THE COMMUNITY 

AND 

THE CITIZEN 



DUNN 




Class "' 

Book . 

ioD\Tie'rTi\° 



U H'^ 



CCFl-RIGHT DEPOSIT. 



THE COMMUNITY 



AND 



THE CITIZEN 



BY 



ARTHUR WILLIAM DUNN 

w 

FORMERLY DIRECTOR OF CIVJCS 
INDIANAPOLIS PUBLIC SCHOOLS 



REVISED AND ENLARGED 



D. C. HEATH & CO., PUBLISHERS 

BOSTON NEW YORK CHICAGO 






Copyright, 1907 antj 1914, 
By D. C. heath & CO. 

IK4 



NOV 25 1914 



GLA38S723 



PREFACE 

The important changes in our community life, and especially in our 
methods of self-government, that have occurred during the seven years 
since the present volume was first published, have made a revision 
desirable. In no particular, however, has the original point of view 
been departed from, nor the method of presenting the subject modified. 
The soundness of a point of view and of a method of elementary in- 
struction in citizenship, which were novel seven years ago, has been 
abundantly confirmed by their wide acceptance and by visible results 
in the life of pupils and of communities. The only justification for the 
book, in its original or revised form, is in its point of view and method. 
It will be successful in the hands of the teacher in proportion as they 
are realized in the work of the classroom. 

In view of the importance of this fact, advantage has been taken of 
the opportunity offered by revision to reorganize and supplement the 
matter in the original " Preface " and " Suggestions to the Teacher,'' as 
an Introduction on "Aims and Methods," which, it is hoped, will be 
of service to the teacher who is seeking to make the work of instruc- 
tion in citizenship more effective. 

In the preface to the original edition the author acknowledged with 
gratitude the invaluable assistance derived, in the preparation of the 
book, from the test to which it was put, in a preliminary form, by a 
year's use in the schools of Indianapolis. He had the benefit of the 
practical experience, and the searching but sympathetic criticism, of 
thirty or forty teachers who were daily using the text in their classes. 
In addition to this, he now wishes to recognize the particular value, of 
which he has become fully conscious only with the lapse of time, of the 
spontaneous and frank, though unconscious, criticism of some twelve 
hundred pupils in those classes, as expressed in their daily reactions to 
their civics work. The best test of a method of instruction is in the 
response of the pupils to it. Such success' as the book has enjoyed is 
due in large measure to these two sources of suggestion, together with 
the cordial cooperation of Dr. Calvin N. Kendall, then Superintendent 



iv PREFACE 

of the Indianapolis schools, and now Commissioner of Education for 
New Jersey. 

The author would also again acknowledge his indebtedness to Dr. 
George E. Vincent, formerly of the University of Chicago, now Presi- 
dent of the Universit}- of Minnesota, and to Dr. Albion W. Small, 
of the University of Chicago, for the first suggestion of method of 
approaching the subject in their book. •• An Introduction to the Study 
of Society." and in courses taken with them in the University : and to 
Dr. Henry Suzzallo. then of Leland Stanford Junior University, now 
of Teachers College. New York, and to Professor Henn.- E. Bourne, 
of Western Resen-e University, for critical reading of the original 

manuscript. 

ARTHUR WILLIAM DUNN. 
Washington, September i, 1914. 



CONTENTS 



Introduction for Teachers : Aims and Methods 

CHAPTER 

I. The Beginning of a Community 



II. What is a Community? ..... 

III. The Site of the Community .... 

IV. What the People in Communities are Seeking 
V. The Family . 

VI. The Home and the Community 

VII. The Making of Americans .... 

VIII. How THE Relations between the People and the 

Land are made Permanent and Definite . 

IX. How THE Community aids the Citizen to satisfy 

his Desire for Health 

X. How THE Community aids the Citizen to protect 

his Life and Property 

XI. The Relation between the Community and the 

Citizen in Business Life 

XII. How THE Government aids the Citizen by Con 
trolling Business Relations .... 

XIII. How THE Community aids the Citizen in Trans 

portation and Communication 

XIV. Waste and Saving 

XV. How THE Community aids the Citizen to satisfy 

his Desire for Knowledge .... 
XVI. How the Community aids the Citizen to satisf\ 
his Desire for Beautiful Surroundings 



VI 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER ~ PAGE 

XVII. How THE Community aids the Citizen to satisfy 

HIS Religious Desire 169 

XVIII. What the Community does for those who C-\n- 

NOT OR will not CONTRIBUTE TO ITS PROGRESS 1 73 

XIX. How THE Citizens of a Community govern Them- 
selves i8i 

XX. How OUR Methods of Self-government are 

changing 200 

XXI. The Government of Rural Communities: Town- 
ship AND County 217 

XXII. The Government of the City •. . . . 229 

XXIII. The Government of the State .... 242 

XXIV. The Government of the Nation .... 252 
XXV. How the Expenses of Government are Met . 268 

Appendix 

I. The Constitution of the United States . . .' . 281 
II. Table showing the Number of Homes owned and the 

Number rented in Cities ...... 299 

III. Immigration Tables ....... 300 

Index 305 



INTRODUCTION FOR TEACHERS 

Aims and Methods 

The justification and aim of The Community and the Citizen 
were stated, in the preface of the original edition, in these words from 
Professor Dewey's Ethical Principles Underlying Education : 

" The social work of the school is often limited to training for citizen- 
ship, and citizenship is then interpreted in a narrow sense as meaning 
capacity to vote intelligently, a disposition to obey laws, etc. . . . The 
child is to be not only a voter and a subject of law ; he is also to be 
a member of a family. . . . He is to be a worker, engaged in some 
occupation which will be of use to society and which will maintain his 
own independence and self-respect. He is to be a member of some 
particular neighborhood and community, and must contribute to the 
decencies and graces of civilization wherever he is. . . . To suppose 
. . . that a good citizen is anything more than a thoroughly efficient 
and serviceable member of society ... is a cramped superstition which 
it is hoped may soon disappear from educational discussion. . . . 
Training for citizenship is formal and nominal unless it develops the 
power of observation, analysis, and inference with respect to what 
makes up a social situation and the agencies through which it is 
modified." 

This broad view of citizenship, and the conviction that the chief busi- 
ness of the school is to train for citizenship in this sense, are controlling 
factors in the development of public education to-day. We hear much 
of " socializing " the work of the school, of adapting it to the needs 
of the child as a member of the community. The growing tendency to 
deal with pupils as individuals instead of en masse marks an attempt to 
help each one to find his proper place in the community. The increas- 
ing attention to the physical well-being of pupils, vocational training, 
school gardening, the reorganization of rural schools, and most of the 
other important recent developments in the public schools, aim at a 



viii INTRODUCTION FOR TEACHERS 

more efficient citizenship on the part of a larger proportion of those 
who attend school. Dr. F. M. ^NIcMurn,-. of Teachers College. New 
York, has ventured to judge the efficiency of all teaching on the basis 
of standards of purely social import (see McMurry. •■ Elementary School 
Standards." World Book Company) . 

While the work of the school in training for citizenship is thus by no 
means limited to instruction under the name of •• civics." this does not 
mean that there is no further need for systematic instruction in this 
subject. It only means that civics itself must be ••' socialized." adapted 
more closely to the needs of the pupil and of the community, both in 
subject-matter and in methods, in harmony with the tendency of educa- 
tion in general. This book is an attempt to help the teacher to accom- 
plish this. But even if the author were completely successful in his 
task, the effectiveness of the teaching still depends upon the teacher 
more than upon the book. 

If ci\'ics instruction is to be vital, the object of study must be. not the 
pages of the text-book, but the actual community of which the pupil 
is a member. The text is designed to be a guid-e to the facts and rela- 
tions of the pupil's own community life, and an interpretation of them. 
It will facilitate the proper use of the book in this respect, if the teacher 
will restate the titles of the chapters in terms of the community with 
which the pupils are familiar. Thus, the title of chapter I. ■• The 
Beginning of a Community." may be restated for the pupils of Browns- 
ville, Maryland (let us say), as "The Beginning of the Community 
of Brownsville," or •• of Mar}-land." The title of chapter IX may like- 
wise be restated, •■■ How Brownsville (or Mar}-land) Aids her Citizens 
to Satisfy their Desire for Health." This may be done for many of the 
chapters of the book, and will force comparison between the statements 
of the text and the real facts relating to '• Brownsville." 

The same thing should be done with the topics at the ends of the 
chapters. These are designed to direct the study to the actual com- 
munity, and to keep the text related always to the realities b)' which 
the pupil is surrounded. *• Whence does 'Brownsville ' get its author- 
ity to add to its territory- ? '" is more effective than " Whence does • the 
city' get its authority," etc. The topics given are only suggestive; 
others should often be substituted to fit the needs of the class and the 
conditions of the immediate community. Informal discussions of topics 
are often better than formal reports by individual pupils, although the 
latter have their place. The community spirit should be maintained 



AIMS AND METHODS ix 

in the conduct of the class. While one group of pupils is working 
cooperatively on one topic or set of topics, another group should be 
attacking other topics. Let each one acquire a sense of responsibility 
for a specific contribution to the progress of the class-community. 

Materials are not always easily available to furnish an answer to some 
of the topics, or to questions that arise in the course of the study. 
This should not be discouraging. A great many questions in real civic 
life have not yet been answered. The fact that a question cannot be 
answered does not destroy its usefulness. It is worth a great deal to 
discover that an important question exists. This is the first step in 
civic progress. Of course an attempt should be made to answer it, or 
to show why it cannot be answered. Here is what happened in one 
case: 

The teachers of civics were at first greatly disturbed because no 
printed material was available to enable the pupils or teachers to answer 
some apparently simple questions about the water supply of their city. 
It was not difficult to show, by discussion, that the questions were of 
real importance to the community. The pupils were asked to consult 
parents and friends on the subject, the result being to show that they 
also were ignorant in regard to this important matter. The first im- 
portant result, then, was to demonstrate that ignorance prevailed re- 
garding matters of prime importance to the community. A second 
result was that the school authorities took the matter up with the water 
company, who prepared a complete story of the development and present 
status of the water supply, and provided guides to take pupils, teachers, 
and parents through the power houses, filtration system, and other 
parts of the plant, at any time. The whole community was educated 
through the raising of questions which at first discouraged teachers 
and pupils because of a lack of information. 

In Newark, N.J., the public library has cooperated with the school 
authorities in gathering and publishing a large body of material relat- 
ing to the civic life and development of Newark. In Indianapolis the 
Commercial Club cooperated with the board of education in a similar 
way. A type of civics instruction in the schools that leads a commu- 
nity to seek and distribute information regarding itself proves its effec- 
tiveness. 

The type of civics which this text-book represents has pretty gen- 
erally acquired the name of •' community civics." There is danger of 
some confusion of ideas about the significance of this term. Com- 



X INTRODUCTION FOR TEACHERS 

muniU- civics does not relate merely to the local community (see chap- 
ter II). Its significance does not lie in its geographical implications, 
but in its implication of community relations, community of interests, 
community cooperation through government for the common good. 
The study of one's own town may be as lifeless and devoid of the spirit 
of communit}- civics as the study of the old-time ''civil government": 
while that spirit may be made thoroughly to infuse the study of the 
state and of the nation. It wHl be found that the relations between 
local, state, and national, and of all three to the interests of the indi- 
vidual, are constantly maintained throughout the chapters of the book. 
The teacher must never forget the community spirit, even when dealing 
with the national government. One way of helping to cultivate and 
maintain it is to nourish the community- spirit in the conduct of the 
class (see chapter XV). The illustrative lessons given later in the 
Introduction will be suggestive in this connection. 

Those who are bound by the traditions of the old-time, formal civil 
government sometimes profess to see in community civics an undue 
subordination of government to pri\-ate social activities. It may be 
well to caution the teacher against this false impression. Indeed. 
whether the impression be false or not depends largely on whether 
the teacher makes it so. As government is the chief means of commu- 
nity cooperation, so it is the controlling idea in community civics. It 
will be found that *'all roads lead to government" throughout this 
book. WTiat has been attempted is to present government in its per- 
spective, in its relations to the interests of the community and of the 
individual, even of the pupil. The idea of government is interwoven 
through every chapter, and the teacher should see that it is kept promi- 
nent. The last few chapters are devoted to a description of the gov- 
erning machinery. They are intentionally brief, for elementary pur- 
poses. They should be constantly related, during their study, to what 
has preceded. 

One of the errors that have persistently hindered the progress of 
civic education is the apparent assumption that the pupO will be a citi- 
zen only at some future time. Even children have, in simple form, the 
same civic interests from which all community action springs, and 
which are the foundation of all community- arrangements and institu- 
tions, including government. Every pupil has an interest of some kind 
in his physical well-being, in his own personal safety and that of his 
home and femOy possessions, in his father's occupation or business or 



AIMS AND METHODS xi 

his own future vocation (perhaps in small business enterprises of the 
present), in the matter of his education, in the appearance of his 
neighborhood, and in social activities. These are the very things for 
which government exists. What the civics teacher has to do is to 
bring these real civic interests of the pupil into the foreground of his 
consciousness, and relate them to the interests and activities of the 
community as a whole, and of government as the community''s means 
of cooperation. The first five chapters of the book are designed to 
establish this point of view ; the remainder of the book aims to carry 
out the idea consistently. 

Civic education consists not merely in acquiring a fund of informa- 
tion about one's community and its government. On the side of the 
pupil it is a process of growth ; on the side of the teacher it is a process 
of cultivating certain essential qualities of good citizenship. Effective 
civics instruction depends on a clear notion of what these qualities are, 
and the employment of methods adapted to their cultivation. The type 
lessons given later will illustrate the point made here ; but let us first 
see what some of the essential civic qualities are which civics instruction 
should aim to cultivate. 

First in importance is interest in one's civic relations. Bad citizen- 
ship is more often due to lack of interest than to lack of knowledge. 
To cultivate an abiding civic interest, which is one of the aims of civic 
education, means much more than " to make the subject interesting." 
It means to cultivate in the pupil a consciousness that these civic rela- 
tions are^ now and always, of vital moment to him. 

Closely allied to interest is motive. But real or apparent interest 
may sometimes lead to the setting up of wrong motives. A group of 
boys who were studying their own community from the standpoint 
of cleanliness and beauty, were "interested" by the offer of a prize to 
the boy who should bring in the largest number of discarded tin cans. 
The motive set up was wrong, and uncivic action resulted. Some of 
the boys hauled into the city wagon-loads of cans from the city's dumps ! 
Good citizenship can only grow out of right motives, which it should be 
an aim of civic education to cultivate. 

No one can be effective in civic life unless his '- team work " is good. 
The proper idea of government is that of a means of cooperation for 
the common good. The cultivation of a spirit and habit of codperatio?i 
should be another aim of civic education. 

Assuming an interest in civic affairs, a right motive, and a willing- 



xii INTRODUCTION FOR TEACHERS 

ness to work with others,, a man's citizenship \Yill not even then count 
for much unless he h2iS good J7idg7ne?it when confronted by a civic situa- 
tion, or by a choice of ci\'ic methods ; and unless he displays initiative 
in applying the methods to the situations. Civic education should 
therefore cultivate civic judgment and civic initiative. 

The only test that we have been in the habit of applying to our civics 
teaching in the past has been: How much do the children know? A 
certain fund of information is essential to good citizenship ; but mere 
knowledge will not of itself make a good citizen. Nevertheless, it is 
an aim of civic education to give a serviceable fund of information relat- 
ing to civic life. The problem which confronts the teacher and the 
maker of the course of study is : How much and what kind of informa- 
tion should be acquired by the pupil? No hard and fast rule can be 
given for determining just what information should be given under aU 
circumstances : but in general it may be said that information is valu- 
able in proportion as it may be and is related to the experience and 
interest of the pupil. 

We shall find that our civics teaching will become increasingly effec- 
tive if we continually test it by asking ourselves questions like the 
following : 

Does our civics teaching appeal to the pupil's present, actual interest 
as a citizen? 

Does it afford the pupil an adequate motive (cr) for studying the sub- 
ject, ij)) for participating in civic activities? 

Does it stimulate the pupil to cooperative activity in the interest of 
his own community {i.e.. his class, school, family, neighbor- 
hood, city, state, nation) ? 

Does it train the pupil's judgment relative to civic situations and 
methods of deahng with them? 

Does it cultivate in the pupil civic initiative? 

Does it select and organize information with reference to its relation 
to the civic experience and interest of the pupil? 



AIMS AND METHODS xiii 



A Lesson on How the Commnnity Aids the Citizen 
to Satisfy His Desire for Health 

(This lesson extended over several days, including observational work, discus- 
sions, etc. Text-book assignment in chapter IX was made only after the class 
discussion was well under way.) 

The pupils discussed informally what good health means 
to each one, and gave examples from their own experience 
of consequences of sickness. They discussed specific 
dangers to their own health, such as impure food, water, 
or air. They explained how they individually care for 
their own health, or how at times they are careless of it. 
They discussed how in many cases their health depends 
not merely on their own care, but on the care of others, 
and how the danger to health is increased where many 
people are gathered together. They gave examples of the 
dependence of each upon others for health protection, as 
in the case of epidemics. They derived from this the need 
for cooperation in the interest of health. They illustrated 
such cooperation in the home and in the school, and men- 
tioned rules that necessarily exist in home and school for 
health protection. They gave examples of neighborhood 
cooperation for health protection, such as combined eiforts 
for clean yards, alleys, and streets. After observation and 
inquiry, they reported on actual menaces to health in their 
own city, and made the logical deduction regarding the 
necessity for cooperation on the part of the entire city to 
avoid these dangers or to remove them. This raised the 
question as to whether the city did so cooperate, and led 
to a thorough discussion of how the city government pro- 
vides the means for such cooperation. They went into 
detail in regard to how the department of health insures 
pure water for the use of each family, provides for the 
removal of garbage from their back doors, and prevents 
the spread of contagious diseases. This brought under 
review the regulations (laws, ordinances) bearing on these 
matters, the activities of the various health officers, and 
how these are supervised by the board of health. The 



xiv ■ INTRODUCTION FOR TEACHERS 

relation of the latter to the people was discussed, and also 
the responsibility of each citizen for cooperation with the 
board of health for the health of the community. 

In a discussion of the various duties of the board of 
health, one boy asserted that "it passes pure food laws.'' 
Another at once objected. •• No. it is the national ^p^^m- 
ment that makes the pure food laws."' At once the horizon 
was broadened, the question why the national government 
acts in a case hke this was discussed, and the relation of 
the great packing houses (for example) to the common 
health interests of the entire nation was disclosed. This 
led to a consideration of other national health interests, 
and of what the national government is doing in this field. 
It also suggested the sphere of state activity, which was 
in turn related to the interests of the individual and to the 
activities of the local and the general governments. 

There was in this lesson no lack of information regarding govern- 
ment, but it was organized with reference to its relation to the pupil's 
experience. The entire exercise was built on his interest in physical 
well-being. Motive was supplied for the study both by the method of 
conducting the lesson, and by the relation the subject bore to common 
experience. The pupils were dealing with real things. They gathered 
their information largely from direct observation, from the give-and- 
take of discussion, from inquiries at home, from newspapers and printed 
reports, merely supplementing when necessary from text-books. They 
were ^i?/;/^ something all the time. The idea of cooperation was prom- 
inent in the subject-matter, while its spirit prevailed in the conduct of 
the class. The teacher was largely in the background — rather, she 
was merely one of the class. The pupils asked more questions than 
she. They were encouraged to make their own suggestions regarding 
sources of information and methods of procedure, thus stimulating 
initiative. Note, especially, the easy transition from a consideration of 
the local government to that of the national and state governments, 
of the relations between them, and of all to the individual. The time- 
worn question of which should come first was naturally solved : if the 
question of pure food laws had come up first in discussion the order of 
treatment would doubtless have been reversed. 

Still other points may be more clearly illustrated by the following 



AIMS AND METHODS XV 



Lesson from a Fall of Snow 

One morning after a heavy fall of snow the question was 
raised in a number of civics classes, " What will be the 
effects of this snowfall upon the life of the community?" 
It was soon developed, among other things, that it inter- 
fered seriously with traffic, resulting in interruption of the 
schools, of business, and of other community activities ; 
that it impeded the movements of the fire department ; 
that, if it were allowed to melt and freeze, it might be 
dangerous to life and limb ; and that, when it lay in dirty 
heaps, it marred the beauty of the city. The snowfall was 
thus seen in various community relations that had previ- 
ously been discussed by the classes in other aspects. 

Who cleaned the snow from the roadways? This was 
done for the citizens by the street cleaning department 
of ,the city government. Who cleaned it from the side- 
walks ? This was not done by the city, but was left in the 
hands of individual property owners. The pupils ob- 
served, on their way home, how many walks were cleaned, 
and made a report on the subject. Were the citizens left 
to their own discretion in the matter? No, for there was 
a city ordinance which commanded them to clean their 
walks. Why was the ordinance not obeyed? Why was 
it not enforced? What is the effect of having a law that 
is disregarded? 

The pupils were impressed by the facts. They talked 
about it at home. They wanted to do something about it. 
The question was, what could they do? Some suggested 
complaining to the authorities ; but it was decided after 
discussion that mere complaint seldom accomplishes much. 
Some thought that they could speak personally to of- 
fenders ; but this was voted to be slightly officious, and 
perhaps offensive to older citizens. It was suggested that 
groups of boys might clean the walks in their neighbor- 
hoods. As a commercial venture this was approved ; and 
in a few cases such groups cleaned walks before vacant 
lots as a public service. But it was concluded, in general, 



xvi INTRODUCTION FOR TEACHERS 

that for boys to go about cleaning other people's walks as 
a public service when these people were expected to do it 
for themselves, w-as shifting the burden of responsibilit}- 
in a harmful way. 

The actual result was that the boys pretty generally saw 
to it that their own walks were cleaned, having impressed 
upon them that the best civic service is usually performed 
in the regular course of one's daily tasks ; and. further, a 
public sentiment was created, starting in the class-rooms, 
extending to the homes, and being spread by ci\-ic organ- 
izations and the newspapers, until the householders saw 
to it that there was a great improvement in conditions 
during the remainder of the season. 

A number of suggestions may be derived from this lesson, but 
especially prominent are the stimulation of initiative and the training 
of judgment as to modes of ci\-ic action. It also illustrates wisely-guided 
pupil participation in a ci\-ic situation affecting the entire community. 
As action is the end of all good citizenship, so it is the end. as well as 
an invaluable means, of all good teaching. Pupils should be given 
abundant opportunity to live their civics in the school communit}- and, 
as far as possible, in the community outside of the school. While par- 
ticipation in real civic activities is a desirable means of civic training, 
its employment requires the best of judgment on the part of those who 
direct it. The incident of the boys who brought tin cans from the 
city's dumps in order to win a prize illustrates misdirected acti\'ity. 
A child that is learning to walk must walk in order to learn : but he 
should not be expected to walk far, nor to carry hea%y burdens. Ex- 
periments in pupil participation in ci\-ic matters that thnist them unduly 
into the public \-iew. or that impose upon them responsibilities that 
properly belong elsewhere, are questionable. The business of the 
school is to educate the child, and not to exploit him for a reformation 
of the community that the proper agencies, or the more responsible 
citizens, have failed to accomplish. 



THE COMMUNITY AND THE 
CITIZEN 

CHAPTER I 
THE BEGINNING OF A COMMUNITY 

Many years ago a company of people in the state of New 
York decided to found a settlement in the far West. 
Their purpose was to build a college for the whvthe 
education of Christian ministers. Their first settlement 
step toward actual settlement was to appoint was made 
an exploring committee to search for a suitable site, and a 
committee to find families who were willing to go. 

The exploring committee was given instructions to ex- 
amine the following points : 

1. What is the quality of the water in wells 

, . , What the 

andsprmgs? ^ ^^pi^^^^ 

2. Do the streams in the neighborhood rise committee 
in, or pass through, swamps ? Or do they rise ™ *° ^°°^ 
from springs ? Are they rapid or sluggish ? 

3. Are there marshes in the vicinity ? 

4. Is the land level or rolling ? 

5. What is the quality and depth of the soil ? 

6. Is there a convenient and abundant supply of timber 
and fuel ? 

7. Is there water power ? If not, is there coal .-* 

8. Are there navigable streams, or canals and roads 
already built or proposed ? 



2 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

After three months' search a suitable location was found 
in a beautiful rolling prairie country, on the watershed be- 
The site tween two large rivers, neither of which was 
selected raore than fifty miles distant. The prairie land 
was very fertile. Near at hand was a large tract of wood- 
land containing oak, black walnut, and other fine trees, 
which afforded shelter during the first hard winter, before 
substantial houses could be built upon the open prairie, 
and supplied building material and fuel. There were 
numerous springs and streams which furnished water and 
good drainage. Since the settlement has become a city, 
one of these streams has become a menace to health be- 
cause of the refuse drained into it. Near by an abun- 
dance of coal was found, and in the course of time there 
was discovered a great deposit of shale, good for the mak- 
ing of paving brick, which is one of the chief industries of 
the city at the present time. The settlement was made 
before the day of railroads, and there were few wagon roads 
and no canals in the region. But the location was such 
that it was felt that roads were certain to center there 
in the near future. 

The committee to find families was also successful. 
Thirty families, comprising one hundred and seventy 
The families Persons, were found who would go to the new 
for the settlement the first year. The settlement 

settlement founded by these families still takes pride in the 
fact that it is a city of homes. 

The purpose of those who planned the settlement, ^ as 
we have seen, was to found a college to educate Christian 
r„„„,„ ministers. The famiUes chosen to make up the 

Lommon ^ 

interests of settlement were selected, therefore, with a view 
the settlers ^^ getting people who Avould take an interest in 
this purpose. The community was noted for its zeal for 



THE BEGINNING OF A COMMUNITY 3 

education and religion. But this was not all that con- 
cerned them. If you will examine the instructions given 
to the exploring committee, you will see that care was to 
be taken to find a site favorable to health ; it must also be 
favorable to the production of wealth ; and there must be 
easy means of communication among themselves and with 
the outside world. Which of the instructions refer to 
these different things ? 

The little colony not only planned to build a church, a 
college, and a common school; they also built houses 
for shelter, they began to cultivate the soil, they put up a 
sawmill and a gristmill. Many of the necessary occupa- 
tions, such as making clothing and shoes, repairing tools, 
and making furniture, were at first carried on in each 
household, but soon carpenters, a blacksmith, a shoemaker, 
and other tradesmen settled in the community. For social 
life, the people had their singing schools and quilting 
parties. 

The colonists had acquired a township of land. Three 
sections were reserved for the site of the village and the 
college. The village was laid out in lots to be ^j^^ people 
sold to those who wished to build homes and united with 
places of business. The college land was tJ^ei^nd 
fenced in, and lots were reserved for the church, an 
academy, and a common school. Outside of the village 
the land was sold in half-sections and quarter-sections for 
farming. These farms were fenced in and improved by 
cultivation and by the erection of permanent buildings. 
The more the settlers improved the land, and the more 
they invested in their homes and business, the greater cer- 
tainty was there that the community would be permanent 
and prosperous. 

The early life of this little community was very simple. 



4 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

Each man, with his neighbors' help, chopped and hauled 
Th lif f ^^^ ^^S^ ^^^^ which to build his cabin. In the 
the early edge of the grove there were '' a dozen or two 
community j^^ cabins, some built without a nail or a pane 
of glass ; with the spaces between the logs chinked with 
mud ; with outside chimneys made of clay and sticks ; with 
boxes, barrels, and short logs for chairs, a large box for 
the table, and a one-post bedstead^ for an honored guest." 
Each man was his own mechanic, some were their own 
cobblers, and the wives were the tailors and dressmakers. 
A family in " average circumstances " is described as 
having " enough money to pay taxes and postage." Serv- 
ants were rare and were on equal terms with the family. 
The cabins were adorned by such simple means as sticking 
four balls of clay upon the corners of the chimneys. It is 
said that it was strange " how quickly, under the good 
taste and deft fingers of the ladies of the colony, these 
cabins took on a cozy air and an appearance of beauty and 
refinement." Books and papers were few, and were 
handed about from house to house. Money was scarce, so 
that the exchange of goods took place by barter. Farm 
produce had to be hauled in wagons straight across the 
prairie to the nearest large town, fifty miles away. When 
any great undertaking was proposed, like the building of the 
church, all the men of the community united in the work. 
They chopped and hauled the logs from the grove, they 
hewed out the timbers, they put the frame together, and 
raised the building. 

The people in this little community, selected as they 
had been with great care by a committee, were at first 
remarkably harmonious. They were of one nationahty ; 

1 A one-post bedstead was built in the corner of the room, the two walls 
serving as two sides of the bed. 



THE BEGINNING OF A COMMUNITY 5 

they were of Puritan principles. They all rallied around 
the idea of the Christian college. If any differ- Government 
ences arose, they were at first settled by the of the 
church organization. But with the coming of *^°"^°^"°**y 
more settlers, and the development of new interests, it 
became necessary to form a goveimment. 

Such was the beginning of this community, which has 
developed until to-day it is a thriving city with handsome 
homes, busy streets, noisy factories, churches, schools, and 
libraries. It is an important railroad center, and is thus 
brought into the life of the world outside. It is a center 
of culture and refinement, and a pleasant place in which 
to live. 

FOR INVESTIGATION 

Keep in mind that your own co?nmunity is what you are to study, 
and that the text is merely a guide. This chapter is the true story 
of the founding of a community in Illinois. Every community, in- 
cluding your own, has had a beginning more or less like that of the 
one described here. The text with the following questions will suggest 
the kinds of things you should look for in your own community. 

1. Can you find out how the site of your community happened to be 
selected ? 

2. Take the list of instructions given to the exploring committee 
mentioned on page i, and answer the questions there asked with 
reference to your own community. 

3. From what localities did the early settlers in your own com- 
munity come ? What led them to found a new community ? How 
did they make the journey from their old homes to the new settle- 
ment ? 

4. Find true stories of pioneer life in your own community, or in 
your own state. 

5. When Virginia was colonized, did the character of the site influ- 
ence the life of the colony ? Did the character of the people do so ? 
Answer these questions with reference to the other colonies. 

6. What were the purposes that led the colonists to settle in New 
England ? Compare with the purposes of the settlers described in 
this chapter. 



6 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

7. Describe the life of the people in Massachusetts during the 
first few years of the colony. Compare with the life of the settle- 
ment described on page 4 of this chapter, and with the pioneer life 

of your own community. 

REFERENCES 

1. Where possible, the pupil should gather information from old 
settlers of his acquaintance. 

2. Where available, local histories should be made use of. County 
histories, reports of old settlers" meetings, etc., are useful. 

3. Use any stories of pioneer life, like that of Lincoln's boyhood, 
to supplement local history. McMurry's '• Pioneer History Stories " 
(Macmillan) is good. 

4. For questions 5-7, the ordinary school histories w^Il usually 
suffice w^here other books on colonial life are not available. 

5. There is an excellent series of books on colonial life, suitable 
for pupils, by Alice Morse Earle. These will be useful throughout the 
study. Some of the titles are : " Colonial Dames and Good Wives " ; 
" Stage Coach and Tavern Days '" ; '' Home Life in Colonial Days " ; 
"Child Life in Colonial Days." 

6. " Pioneer Indianapohs,"' by Ida Stearns Stickney (Bobbs-Merrill, 
Indianapolis, 1907). This monograph of sixty-eight pages is a good type 
study of the early development of community life in its various impor- 
tant aspects. The material is organized so as to bring out the civic rela- 
tions and is in excellent literary form. This might well be a model for 
similar studies in other communities. It illustrates how- much material 
may be made available in almost any community by the cooperation of 
school authorities, teachers and civic organizations, libraries, or public- 
spirited citizens. 

7. Small and Vincent, *' Introduction to the Study of Society,"' Book 
II, pp. 99-165: "The Natural History of a Society." (For the 
teacher.) 



CHAPTER II 
WHAT IS A COMMUNITY? 

The story of the founding of the colony in the West 
illustrates certain things that we should know about com- 
munities. Each one of us is a member of a community. 
We wish to know just what our community is, and how it 
grew. We wish especially to know what it does for us, 
and what we owe to it. 

The community whose beginnings we noticed in the 
last chapter consisted of a group of people who settled 
together in a single locality ^ and who were ji^^rA- 
bound to each other by comjnon interests. They tionof a 
were also subject to cominon laws. This may be *^°°^™^°^y 
taken as a definition of any community. 

Communities may be large or small ; that is, the people 
may be many or few, and the locality in which they live may 
include a large area or a small one. A group ^^ j. a 
of neighboring farmers with their families may small com- 
constitute a community. In this case the area ™"°^*^®s 
occupied may be large, while the people are few in number. 
Or the community may be a city, with a dense population 
in a comparatively small area. Each state in our Union is 
a community, and so is our nation, because each is com- 
posed of a group of people occupying a common territory 
and governed by common interests and common laws. 
The nation is composed of state communities, and each 
state is made up of many city and rural communities. 

You may live in a small city which is a community in 

7 



8 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

itself, with its group of people, its boundaries, its common 
Communi- interests, and its common laws. A few miles 
ties unite outside of your city is a community of farmers, 
ones whose houses are far apart, but who have common 

interests, such as keeping up the roads and the bridges in 
their neighborhood. The farmers bring their produce to 
the city for the use of the people there, and in turn depend 
upon the city for many of their necessities and pleasures. 
The country and the city communities thus have certain 
interests in common, and their dealings with each other 
are regulated by common laws. You are, therefore, a mem- 
ber not only of your city community, but also of a larger 
community including the farmers. You belong also to the 
community of the whole state, and to a still larger one 
including the nation. 

No community ever began its existence fully formed, 
but each has grown from small beginnings. It is Hke the 
Communi- growth of a plant from the seed. You may have 
hes g^o^ seen a tangled mass of vines growing from a 
beginnings common root, with the branches and tendrils so 
interwoven that it is difficult to trace one of them back to 
the main trunk. So in a great community like a city, or 
like our nation, we find the structure and the organization 
so complicated that it is often difficult to understand them. 
It is easier to take a community in its simpler stages, like 
that of the last chapter, for a beginning of our study. 

Being a member of a community means that each one 
Member- ^^ ^^ takes part in, and contributes to, its life, 
ship in a The hand is a member of the body; it receives 
community |^-^ from the body and contributes to its life. 
If the body is sick, the hand cannot do its work well ; if 
the hand is crippled, the body suffers. So your life is 
closely interwoven with that of the community of which 



WHAT IS A COMMUNITY? 9 

you are a member. The best of your life comes from 
participation in its life. You can imagine yourself shut 
off from mankind, Hke Robinson Crusoe ; but what a narrow 
life you would lead ! CitizeiisJiip means just this member- 
ship in the community, with its giving to and 
receiving from the community's life; and good 
citizenship means performing well one's part as a member 
of the community. Citizenship carries with it certain 
privileges and certain duties. 

FOR INVESTIGATION 

1 . Talk over in class the four essentials of a community — the group 
of people, the site, the common interests, and the common laws. Apply 
these essentials to your own community. 

2. Is your class a community? Explain. What are its common 
interests ? Are its laws written or unwritten ? 

3. Show how the different classes in your school are bound together 
by interests common to the whole school. Compare this union of classes 
into a school with the union of states into a nation. 

4. What are some of the things in which your family and your 
nearest neighbors have a common interest because of living close 
together ? 

5. What are some of the things in which the people of a city and the 
neighboring farmers have a common interest ? 

6. Name some things in which all the cities of a state have a com- 
mon interest. What are some things in which the whole nation has a 
common interest? 

7. Show how an injury or a benefit to one person may be an injury 
or a benefit to the whole community of which the person is a member. 
Show how an injury or a benefit to a community will injure or benefit 
the individual members of the community. 

8. Can you be a member of your class without doing it either good 
or harm? If a member of a community contributes nothing to its wel- 
fare, can he avoid being harmful to it? Explain. 

9. What are some of the things that a citizen receives from his 
community? 

10. Think of some ways in which a citizen may contribute to the 
welfare of his community. 



CHAPTER III 

THE SITE OF THE COMMUNITY 

In beginning our study we must remember that the 
people and the locality both contribute something to make 
our community what it is. 

The geographical features of the land enter into the 
life of the community in many ways. In its relation 
Importance to the land, we may compare the growth of a 
of the land community to the growth of a plant. The 
plant derives its support from the soil. Some kinds of 
plants flourish in one kind of soil, other kinds in other 
soils. In the case of all plants, their size and fruitfulness 
depend not merely on the kind of seed sown, but also on 
the character of the soil. It is the same with communi- 
ties. Whether a community shall live or die may depend 
entirely on the character of its site. 

The importance of the character of the land is seen 
clearly in the account of the founding of the community 
in the first chapter. The site of a community is not 
always selected so carefully as in that case ; but the in- 
fluence of the site is always important. 

Natural geographical conditions usually determine 
where large cities shall grow. Nature seems to have 
In deter- planned the mouth of the Hudson River as the 
w^^cities ^^^^ °^ ^^^ greatest city on the Atlantic coast, 
shau grow A good harbor, like that of Boston or San Fran- 
cisco ; the junction of two navigable rivers, as at Pittsburg 
or St. Louis ; the falls of a river, checking navigation 



THE SITE OF THE COMMUNITY II 

and affording water power, as at Minneapolis or Louisville ; 
the head of a river estuary, as at Quebec or Philadelphia ; 
the center of a rich region where roads naturally cross, 
as at IndianapoHs — all these are conditions favoring, if 
not determining, the growth of large communities. 

The health of a community depends in many ways on 
the character of the land. Low, flat regions are Hkely to 
be unhealthful. Sluggish streams and lakes in relation 
that tend to become stagnant breed disease. '*°^®^*^ 
The supply of drinking water is an important matter, and 
often depends on the character of the underlying rocks 
into which wells are sunk. These geographical influences 
become of the greatest importance in cities where the 
population is dense, for the artificial drainage may be 
good or bad according to the character of the natural 
drainage ; and the water supply is in much greater danger 
of pollution in the city than in smaller communities. A 
stream which is naturally clear and sparkling may be- 
come, in the heart of a city, a foul breeding place of disease. 

Climate is also one of the conditions that influence com- 
munity life. A little thought will show how climate may 
determine the mode of life — the character of influence of 
the houses, the form of clothing, and even the climate 
nature of the sports and amusements of the people. 

The natural resources of a region go far to determine the 
character of a community through the forms of industry 
and the consequent modes of life to which they jj^^^^^q 
lead. The fertility of the soil, the presence of of natural 
mineral ores of different kinds, or of abundance ^®^°"^*^®^ 
of fuel, or of forest products, or of water power, determine 
the kinds of occupations, the size of communities, the char- 
acter of the population, and even to a large extent the 
nature of the laws and the forms of government. Can 



12 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

you not name some cities in the United States that are 
celebrated for industries which depend on the presence of 
important natural resources ? 

In many rural communities the farmers are almost com- 
pletely isolated from one another during a part of the year 
because the roads are impassable, owing to a soil which 
forms a deep mud, or to the fiat and swampy character of 
Influence ^^^ land. This condition interferes with the 

of surface Social, business, and intellectual Hfe of the farm- 
features . , . 

ers, and mtiuences their relations with one 

another in many ways. An unusually hilly site may 
affect the social and the business Hfe of a city. A river 
and its branches may divide a city into parts more 
or less distinct and with differing characteristics. Such 
a city is Chicago, with its North, West, and South 
Sides. 

Virginia affords an example of how the land may shape 
the character and the history of a large community. The 
Influence of development of this colony and state was de- 
geography termined to a remarkable extent by conditions 
develop- °^ cHmate, soil, and surface which encouraged 
ment of the Cultivation of the tobacco plant. This in- 
^g^nia. dustry required large plantations, which were dis- 
tributed along the shores of the na\*igable rivers, of which 
there were many. These rivers were large enough to per- 
mit the ocean vessels of that time to pass some distance up 
their courses. Therefore each planter had his wharf, at 
which he loaded his tobacco for shipment and received 
manufactured goods from abroad. These conditions dis- 
couraged the growth of cities, and the population remained 
almost wholly rural. i\n abundance of cheap labor was 
necessary, and hence slavery gained a foothold. The 
scattering of the population over wide areas made it dif- 



THE SITE OF THE COMMUNITY 13 

ficult for the people to come together at a common meet- 
ing place, so that the township organization with its 
government by town-meeting, such as was found in New 
England, was impracticable, and the county system of 
government developed instead (see chapter XXI). 

In New England, on the other hand, the infertility of 
the soil, the severity of the winters, the hilly character 
of the region, the presence of abundant water power, the 
excellence of the fisheries along the coast, and the hostility 
of the native Indian tribes all contributed to the concentra- 
tion of the population in towns and helped to determine 
the mode of life and a form of local government quite dif- 
ferent from that of Virginia. 

The character of our national community depends in a 
large measure on the character of the land. Rich resources 
have made our land a place of opportunity to all. ^j^^ j^^^^ 
East of the Rocky Mountains, at least, the of our 
country is well fitted geographically to be the 
home of a single great nation rather than of many small 
ones. The whole region from the Rockies to the Alle- 
ghanies is closely bound together by river systems. The 
navigable rivers in early days, and the conditions which 
have made the building of railroads easy in later times, 
have hastened the settlement of the country. Our situation 
between the two great oceans has protected us from foreign 
aggression, and it has also given us a great advantage in 
the commerce of the world. Yet we have had many geo- 
graphical difficulties to overcome. If it were not for the 
wonderful development of means of rapid transportation 
and communication, such as the railroad, the telegraph and 
the telephone, the postal system and the newspapers, it 
might have been very difficult for our great country to hold^ 
together under one government, because of the geographical 



14 



THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 



differences of the different sections. '' For the creation of 
the nation the conquest of her proper territory from Nature 
was first necessary. ... A bold race has derived inspi- 
ration from the size, the difficulty, the danger of the task." 



FOR INVESTIGATION 

1 . a. If you live on a farm or are well acquainted with one, make a 
sketch map of it, showing position of highlands, lowlands, marshes, 
timber, streams ; also houses, barns, roads, bridges. 

d. Did the features of the land determine the location of the build- 
ings? Of the roads and bridges? The drainage of the farm? The 
kinds of crops raised on different parts of the farm ? 

c. Has the character of the land influenced the life of the farmer's 
family in any way? (Bear in mind climate, the change of seasons, 
the presence of woods, good or bad roads ; and think of their effects 
upon going to school or church, amusements, social Hfe.) 

2. Can you discover any advantages in the site of the town in which 
you live, or of the one nearest to your home, that determined its loca- 
tion ? How? 

3. Make a map of the site of your town or city showing the natural 
drainage ; i.e. the streams into which the land is drained. Is the 
drainage good or bad? Is it equally good in all parts of the city ? 

4. What are the natural resources of the region in which your com- 
munity is situated? How have they influenced the life of the com- 
munity ? 

5. Are the geographical conditions in your community favorable to 
good roads in the country districts? Explain fully. How does this 
influence the life of the towns ? Of the farmers ? 

6. Is your community divided into districts or regions by any natural 
features (hills, streams, etc.) ? Can you show any results of this fact 
upon the life of the community ? 

7. What geographical conditions affect your supply of drinking 
water? 

8. Is your state noted for any particular industries? If so, what 
geographical conditions have helped to make it so? 

9. What geographical difficulties had to be overcome in the develop- 
ment of your atate? How has the state government helped to over- 
come them? 

10. Describe some important work now being done by the national 
government to overcome geographical difficulties. 



THE SITE OF THE COMMUNITY 



15 



1 1 . Do you know of any laws in your state that are due to particular 
geographical conditions (such as the laws relating to water rights in an 
irrigated region) ? 

12. Explain how differences in geographical conditions once nearly 
divided our nation into two. 

13. What geographical sections of our nation would perhaps be most 
likely to become independent politically if it were not for the invention 
of easy means of communication ? 

REFERENCES 

The teacher should see that the work in this cliapter is correlated 
with the pupiPs work in geography. 




CHAPTER IV 

WHAT THE PEOPLE L\ COMMUNITIES ARE SEEKING 

Man has been called a bundle of wants, and these wants 
are constantly leading him to act in such a way as to 
satisfy them. 

First of all, men desire life and health. They will or- 
dinarily give up anything in order to preserve their live§. 
Good health is one of the most priceless pos- ^^^ ^^^^^ 
sessions. A perfectly sound and healthy body for life and 
is one of the greatest joys a man can have, ^^^^^ 
and without it he is unable to satisfy his other desires to 
the fullest extent. Recall the provisions made for the 
protection of hfe and health by the colonists mentioned 
in the first chapter. 

Another thing that people want is to own something. 
Bovs and girls like to have things that they can call their 
own. The things that men seek to own — houses, The desire 
cattle, books, pictures, and the like — constitute ^°^ wealth 
wealth. The desire for wealth is a very strong one, 
stronger in some persons than in others. What a man 
owns is valuable because of what he can do with it. It 
helps him to sustain and protect life. It enables him to 
enjoy comforts and luxuries that he could not otherwise 
have. It makes it possible for him to educate himself, 
to satisfy his desire for art, to travel, and to enter more 
fully into social life. Men engage in farming, in manufac- 
turing, in buying and selling, and many other forms of 
business to satisfy their desire for wealth. 

i6 



WHAT THE PEOPLE ARE SEEKING 1 7 

Men also want knowledge. That is why children ask so 
many questions, and why boys like to take things to pieces 
_.- , _ to see how they are made. It is this desire 
sire for that led Peary to the arctic regions, and Living- 
knowledge g^Qj^g ^Q ^^^ ^^^^^ ^f Africa. It lies at the 

foundation of all science. It was one of the foremost 
desires that led to the founding of the settlement in the 
West (chapter I). 

Men also take pleasure in things that are beautiful. 
This may lead to travel, to the collection of pictures, to the 
erection of beautiful buildings, and to the maintenance of 
The desire well-kept Streets and lawns. There is a great 
for beauty variety of activities for the satisfaction of the 
desire for beautiful things. How did this desire show 
itself in the community mentioned in the first chapter ? 

No race or tribe of men has ever been known that did 
not have some form of religion. The religious desire is 
The desire characteristic of men. In every community 
for right- there are certain things that men do to satisfy it. 
eousness j^ ^^^ 1^^ ^-^^ sacrificing of animals, as among 
the ancient Hebrews. It may be the throwing of chil- 
dren to the crocodiles, as in India. It may be the build- 
ing of beautiful temples, as in ancient Greece. It may 
be waging a great war, like the Crusades ; or it may be 
the founding of a hospital or some other charitable institu- 
tion. The desire for the spread of religion was the chief 
motive of the settlers mentioned in the first chapter. 

Man desires companionship. He has been called a social 
animal. He engages in many forms of activity to gratify 
The desire his desire to associate with other men. How 
for com- £^jj ^Q^j^ ^l^jg desire be satisfied in the little 

panion- •' 

ship community founded in the West ? 

Many of the things that men do are the result of several 



l8 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

of these desires \Yorkmg together. A man's desires for 
knowledge, for beautiful scenery, and for health ^ , . 
may combine to lead him to the mountains, tions of 
When Columbus sailed on his voyage of dis- ^®^""®^ 
covery, he was led by his desire for knowledge, his desire 
for wealth, and his desire to extend the influence of Chris- 
tianity. Sometimes one desire may seem to ob- 

1 1 • • ^ IT r ^^® desire 

scure every other desire in the hfe of a person, sometimes 
The love of wealth may take such possession of a shuts out all 

. , -,. others 

man that he becomes a miser, or perhaps dis- 
honest. It has sometimes happened that a man has be- 
come so enthusiastic in the pursuit of art, or of science, 
that he has sacrificed his health, or even hfe itself, as in 
the case of Andre, who attempted to reach the north pole 
in a balloon. History tells us of men who were so devoted 
to what they believed to be their rehgious duty that they 
became hermits, shutting themselves away from all com- 
pan ionship, denying themselves riches, mutilating ^^^ ^gjj. 
and starving the body, and even suffering death, rounded 
But in every normal person there are found all 
the desires named, and t/ie well-roimded life is made iip of 
activities to satisfy all of these desires i^i due proportion. 

Two persons may have the same desires, but may at- 
tempt to satisfy them in different ways. The Flathead 
Indians bind boards upon the foreheads of their Different 
children, flattenino- them, because thev think the "^^^^ °^ 

sa.tisfvinfic 

result is beautiful. A certain people blacken the same 
their teeth and scorn Europeans who have ^^^^^ 
" white teeth hke dogs." So among us there are people 
who seem to take deUght in things that are repugnant to 
others. The miser and the spendthrift both have wrong 
ideas of the use of wealth. One man's desire for com- 
panionship may lead him into profitable associations with 



WHAT THE PEOPLE ARE SEEKING 19 

others. The same desire in another may lead him to 
waste his time in the evil influences of the saloon. 

Where there are so many desires and so many ways of 
satisfying them it is not strange that the activities of peo- 
Conflicts of P^^ sometimes conflict. The robber, in his pur- 
desires and suit of wealth, conflicts with the desires of 
o ac ivi les ^^j^^j-g^ q^q ^^^ ^^y Q^ect a cheap and ugly 

building that is a nuisance in the neighborhood. An em- 
ployer may maintain a poorly ventilated factory or store 
that endangers the health of those who work for him. 
A crowd of young people in their love of sport and com- 
panionship may interfere with the peaceful pursuits and 
the comfort of others. That community is best to live in, 
in which each citizen not only has the greatest opportunity 
to satisfy his desires in Hfe, but also recognizes the fact 
that all other citizens have their desires, and an equal 
right to satisfy them. 

In the course of time men, living together in communi- 
ties, have developed various means to secure harmony, 
Mean t ^^^ ^^ prevent the rights of one from being 
secure interfered with by others. Three means to 

harmony gecure these results are : 

1. T/ie school. Its chief purpose is to train children for 
citizenship ; that is, for membership in the community. 
(See chapter XV.) 

2. The chtLTch. It works through the religious desires of 
men. Its service in helping men to live harmoniously to- 
gether may be expressed by its teaching, " Do unto others 
as ye would be done by." 

3. Government. It establishes and enforces laws for the 
common good, which all should wiUingly observe. It is 
not something placed over us from without, to tyrannize 
over us, and to be feared and antagonized. It is a friend 



20 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

of our own making, and should be cherished and sup- 
ported by every citizen to the fullest extent possible. The 
beneficent purpose of government is stated in the preamble 
of the Constitution of the United States, which reads : 

Wey ''the people of the United States, in order to form a 
more peifect union, establish justice, insure domestic tran- 
qnillity, provide for the common defense, pj'omote the general 
welfai'e, and secure the blessings of libei'ty to ourselves and 
our posterity, do ordaiji a7id establish this Constitutioji for 
the United States of America. 

FOR INVESTIGATION 

The f5nal impression to be left prominent in the mind of the pupil 
as a result of the study of this chapter is that of government and laiu 
as means of cooperation. 

1 . What things are done in your own home for the purpose of satis- 
fying the desires mentioned in this chapter ? 

2. What are some of the things, outside of your home, that the 
people of your community do to satisfy these desires ? 

3. What desires are gratified by a person who does the following 
things : paints his house : attends a concert ; visits a sick friend : buys 
a book ; makes a garden ; keeps a dog : takes out a fire-insurance 
policy ; keeps a store ; goes to church : attends a lecture ? 

4. Show how the following arrangements help you and others to 
satisfy the desires named : paved streets ; the post office ; a hospital ; 
a library : a court house ; a market ; the telephone ; sewers ; a fire 
department : a park. Name other community arrangements or institu- 
tions and explain them in the same way. 

5. Show how a person's desire for companionship may conflict 
with his desire for knowledge ; how his desire for wealth may conflict 
with his desire for health or for companionship. 

6. Give illustrations of how some persons, in satisfying their desires, 
interfere with the attempts of others to satisfy theirs. 

7. Does community life make it easier, or more difficult, for men to 
satisfy their desire for life ; for health : for wealth : for knowledge : for 
beauty; for religion? Explain. 

8. Show how, in the school, the pupil who " does as he pleases '' 
interferes \^ith the Hberty of others. Is it right that his own liberty 



WHAT THE PEOPLE ARE SEEKING 21 

should then be restricted? Why? Is liberty the right to "do as one 
pleases" ? 

9. Discuss some rules that regulate conduct in your home ; in your 
school ; on your playground ; on the street. Show how such rules are 
necessary to prevent conflict of interests. Compare such rules with 
city or state laws. 

10. Study together in class the first ten amendments to the Con- 
stitution of the United States and, if possible, a part of the bill of rights 
of your state constitution. Find how many of the desires mentioned in 
this chapter are there provided for. 

11. Mention one way in which, government helps you to satisfy 
each of the desires mentioned in this chapter. 

12. Discuss the idea of government as a means by which the people 
may cooperate for the common good, and illustrate it with particular 
cases. 

REFERENCE 

Small and Vincent, " Introduction to the Study of Society," pp. 169- 
182. (Book III, chap. I.) (For the teacher.) 



CHAPTER V 

THE F.-\.MILY 

It was pointed out in the first chapter that the commun- 
ity in the West was settled by families, and grew up to 
^, ^ ., be ^ citv of Jiomcs. There are communities in 

The family -■ -^ 

in the our land in which a large part of the popula- 

commumty ^^^^^ -^ without homes in the true sense of 
the word. In the far West there are mining towns, 
and in the North lumber camps, composed almost en- 
tirely of men without families. In such communities 
life is rough, some of the best features of civiUzed Life are 
lacking, and the community is likely to be lawless. In 
cities there are thousands of people who live in dwelling 
places with very little that we usually associate with 
home life. Many, indeed, have not even regular dwelling 
places, as in the case of tramps. There are thousands of 
unfortunate, homeless children adrift in our great cities. It 
is largely in the drifting, homeless population that the dis- 
orderly and criminal classes are found. The family and the 
home are of the greatest importance to a community, first 
because of what they do for the individual citizen in help- 
ing him to satisfy the desires of life, and second because of 
the services they render to the community as a whole. 

What the normal family does for its members can best 
be understood if we first study the Hfe of a pioneer family, 
The pioneer cast almost entirely upon its own resources in a 
family ^g^y countrv. Tempted by stories of rich lands 

in the West and greater opportunities of gaining a Hveli- 



THE FAMILY 23 

hood and accumulating wealth, this family had packed its 
household goods and, with a team of horses and a wagon, had 
undertaken the journey of six weeks or more into the wil- 
derness. It selected a spot in an open space in the forest, not 
far from the banks of a stream, where the conditions of the 
land gave promise of making a new home safe, pleasant, 
and productive of good results. The family then was miles 
from any other human abode. There were no roads con- 
necting it with civiHzation except the rough " trace " by 
which it found its way into the forest. The family was 
face to face with the great wilderness, whose conquest 
was for the present its chief task. 

The husband and father immediately began to make a 
home. With the help of his son, he cut down trees from 
the forest and built a log house. He became providing a 
woodcutter, carpenter, and builder. They made shelter 
some simple furniture, and built a great fireplace of clay 
and sticks, with an oven. Fuel was found in abundance in 
the forest. 

The open space in the forest around the house was 
enlarged by clearing away the trees, the ground was 
plowed, and grain and vegetables were planted, providing 
The grain was cut and threshed by hand, and ^°°^ 
ground into meal in a home-made stone mill. For fresh 
meat they had to depend chiefly upon game from the forest. 
Some necessities, such as salt and powder, and a few lux- 
uries, such as coffee, had to be brought with Exchange 
great difficulty from the nearest settlement many of goods 
miles away. In exchange for these things they gave their 
surplus farm products and a few furs from animals trapped 
during the winter. Money was almost never seen in this 
Western country. 

The man built a forge. Under the stress of necessity, 



24 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

and aided by some little experience gained in the East, he 
Occupations was able to repair his tools, and even to make 
and the^^ ^^ ^^^^' ones, to shoe his horses, and to do many 
mother other things necessary on the farm. He experi- 

mented in making moccasins and even shoes. He began 
the raising of sheep and cultivated flax. A spinning wheel 
and a hand loom were set up in the house, and coarse but 
serviceable clothing was made by the mother's hand. 

Little was to be feared, in those early days, frorn thieves 
and marauders, although there were occasional rumors 
Protection of threatened Indian attacks. Against possible 
against dansfers of this kind the father was a watchful 

violence and ^ 

disease protector. Another enemy more difficult to cope 

wnth was sickness, due to the presence of a swamp near at 
hand. The medicine chest, supplemented by roots and 
herbs from the forest, was a valuable part of the family 
equipment. The mother proved herself a sympathetic and 
resourceful physician and nurse. She also saw to it that 
the cause of disease was reduced as much as possible by 
keeping the premises clean. 

The education of the children had to be looked after. 
The son was taught the duties of the farm and the use of 
Education tools of all kinds. He became a skillful woods- 
and art man. The older girl learned the duties of the 

household, how to spin and weave, and many other things 
to fit her for the life she had to lead. The mother taught 
the vounsrest child to read, and instructed all in ideas of 
right lining. She planted a little flower garden in the 
doorvard, and trained vines over the house. With the 
crude materials at hand, she used her taste to the utmost 
in beautifying the children's clothes. 

The parents were religious people in accordance with 
their early training. The family Bible occupied a promi- 



THE FAMILY 25 

nent place in the household, and from it every day the 
father read to the family group. There was no 
church for miles around. 

There was httle companionship for the members of this 
family outside of the family group; but within the group 
there was the closest association. The children 
interested themselves in the work of the parents, 
and the parents entered sympathetically into the pastimes 
of the children. They read and sang together. The chil- 
dren had their sports in fields and woods, appropriate 
to the seasons. For want of other companions they made 
pets of all the domestic animals. An occasional traveler 
was welcomed in the home with the freest hospitaUty. 

The occupations of the day were carried on in regular 
order; each had his special duties to perform at certain 
times. The children rendered obedience to their Govern- 
parents. The father was the recognized head of ment 
the family. His word was law. Yet he constantly had the 
best interests of the family at heart, and was kind and 
thoughtful with all his sternness. 

Such was the life of the pioneer family. It was crude 
and imperfect ; but you see that all the kinds of desires that 
men have were provided for more or less completely within 
the family itself. It looked after the protection of life 
and health, the production of wealth, the education, the 
religious training, and the social life of its members. 

In the course of time other families came into the neigh- 
borhood. Then an organization into a larger j.^^ family 
community began. The settlers rendered aid to relieved by 
each other in building houses and gathering crops. zatio?of°a 
Many of the occupations formerly carried on larger 
in the family were now transferred to members ^®™™"^^^ 
of the community who made these occupations their 



26 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

business. A school was organized to provide a better 
education than could be offered in the home, and a 
church was built at the crossroads. A government also 
was organized. 

Although, as a communit}^ grows, various means arise 
to help the family to pro\'ide for the wants of its members, 
The re on- ^^^ family must always bear an important part of 
sibiiity of the responsibility for the welfare of its members, 
the family ^^-^ matter how good the doctors, the health of 
the people in any community depends more on the family 
than on anything else. Xo matter how efficient the schools, 
a great responsibihty rests on the family for the proper 
education of the children. No matter hoAv many social 
organizations there mav be in the community, the social 
life of the home is the most important of all and the most 
far-reaching in its results. No matter how excellent the 
government of a community may be, it can have httle 
good result if the government in the home is lacking. 
The surest way to secure good government in the com- 
munity is through careful government in the homes that 
make up the community, ^'o ^natter hozv large the com- 
annuity, or Jioiv completely it is organized, tJie family re- 
mains one of the most important vieatis to provide for tJie 
li'ants of the citizens. 

FOR INVESTIGATION 

1. Find out what you can about femily life in the pioneer days of 
your own community : the kind of dwellings ; where the food supply came 
from; how health was cared for: the occupations in the household; 
what was done to beautif}* the home : the social amusements. 

2. Show to what extent the needs of a farmer's family in your own 
neighborhood are satisfied by its own efforts. 

3. Obsen-e whether your own family is chiefly dependent on itself 
for its needs, or depends on arrangements supplied by the commu- 
nity. 



THE FAMILY 2/ 

4. Compare the advantages of the average country family with those 
of the average city family, with respect to satisfying the desires of life. 
Or, debate the question : Home life in the country has greater advan- 
tages than home life in the city. 

5. Study the way in which the average family governs itself. Why 
is this government necessary? 

6. Are there in your community many people without homes, as 
explained in the first paragraph of this chapter? 

REFERENCES 

See references under Chapter I. 

Beard, "American Citizenship," pp. 21-32. Different kinds of 
homes. 

Beard, "American City Government," pp. 1-30. Family life in 
cities. 

Gillette, "Constructive Rural Sociology," pp. 57-76. Advantages 
and disadvantages of farm life. 



CHAPTER VI 

THE HOME .\XD THE COMMUXITY 
**No nation can be destroyed while it possesses a good home fife." 

The normal family not only does much to pro\*ide for 
the welfare of the indmdual, but it also performs certain 
valuable services for the com m unit}- as a whole. 

In the first place, the family has been called " a school 
of all the virtues"' that go to make gcid citizenship. It 
The family is a school in which not only the children, but 
f?"^^= a'_so :::e parents, are trained for citizenship, 
citizens It has been said that if a man is a good hus- 

band, a good father, a good son, or a good brother, 
the probabiht}- is that he vvtH also be a good citizen in the 
community. And we must not forget the i^ives, mothers, 
daughters, and sisters. The qualit}- of the citizenship 
of the women of a communit}" is perhaps shown more 
in their family life than that of the men, because such 
a large part of their lives is spent in the family and the 
household, and also because their influence there is so 
great in molding the character of the men. In the family- 
are developed thoughtfulness for others, the spirit of self- 
sacrifice, loyalt}- to the group of which the indi\-idual is a 
member, respect for the opinions of those of long ex- 
perience, obedience to the head of the family and to the 
rules which have been estabhshed for the welfare of all. 
If these and other qualities of good citizenship are not 

28 



THE HOME AND THE COMiMUNITY 



29 



cultivated there, the family is not in a healthy condition, 
and is not doing its full service to the community. 

There is no other kind of property that gives such satis- 
faction to the owner as a home. Men usually look forward 
with eagerness to the time when they can own The owning 
their homes, and take great pride in that owner- ^^ * ^°^^ 
ship when it is acquired. Many families live in homes 
which they do not themselves own ; they rent from others. 
When that is 
the case, there 
is lacking one 
of the strongest 
influences that 
make the home 
life complete. 
The ownership 
of a home adds 
another bond of 
union among the 

members of the family through the common interest which 
it affords. A man has a greater interest in improving 
and beautifying a home that he owns than one that he 
rents from another. 

A family that owns its home will usually take a greater 
interest in the community in which it lives than the family 
that owns no home. It feels a se-nse of proprie- Creates 
torship in a part of the community land. The ^^*^^g^* 
value of a home will increase in proportion to community 
the prosperity of the community as a whole. Its owner 
will therefore be inclined to do all he can to promote the 
welfare of the community for the sake of his family. A 
community that is made up largely of homes owned by 
their occupants is hkely to be prosperous on this account, 




Modest Home. 



30 



THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 



and its citizens will be loyal to it. This is why the commu- 
nity mentioned in the first chapter has reason to boast that 
it is a city of homes. 

In large cities, where people are crowded together in a 
comparatively small area, it is difficult for all to get pos- 
session of a piece of 



fei^d^ " " "^^.^ 


te 


^M^^ ^--^^ 




-- ' _ : 



ground suitable for 



The land, being 



A Wretched Dwelling. 



home. 

in great demand, be- 
comes very valuable, so 
that many famiHes are 
unable to buy it, or even 
to pay the necessary 
price for the use of it 
The result is that such families are driven to make their 
homes in the least desirable locaHties in the community. 
_ ^ Thev mav resort to the lowlands alono^ a river 

Dangers to ^ - ^ 

home life flo^Tug through the community, where the land 
m cities ^^ unhealthful and in danger of floods. In some 
river towns most wretched dwelling places may be found 
in such localities. In large cities many families are often 
crowded together in buildings owned by men who can get 
better returns by charging small rents to many families 
than they could by charging larger rents to a few. These 
crowded dwelling places, which often do not deserve the 
name of homes, are called tenements, and the section of 
the city where the crowding is the worst and the buildings 
are the poorest constitutes what is known as the slums. 
These tenement dwellings involve all sorts of evils. Where 
so many families Hve in one building, and where many 
buildings are crowded together without space between, 
there cannot be the privacy that is essential to good home 
hfe. Such conditions are also detrimental to health. The 



THE HOME AND THE COMMUNITY 31 

sunlight never penetrates to the interior of some of these 
buildings. They are ill-ventilated and unsanitary. There 
is no room for playgrounds for the children. Among a 
crowd of people in such wretched dwellings there are al- 
ways many ignorant, immoral, and vicious persons, who 
have a bad influence upon others with whom they are con- 
stantly thrown. Criminals often find a safe hiding place 
in the dark and crowded tenements of the slums. 

Families living in such conditions as we have described 
are less likely to take an interest in the welfare of the 
community and to contribute to its well-being, ^j^^ ijuj-den 
On the other hand, their part of the community of the worst 
is a constant burden and menace to the whole upwi^the^*^ 
community. Fires are likely to start among the whole 
crowded and poorly constructed buildings, and *^°™™"^**y 
to spread to other parts of the city. The unsanitary con- 
ditions invite epidemics of disease, which may not easily 
be restricted to the district where they originate. Dis- 
order, vice, and crime are more frequent there, requiring 
police supervision, which has to be paid for by the whole 
community. In many ways the possessor of the good home 
in the better part of the city has to bear the burden of, 
and help pay for, the existence of these poor homes. A 
very large part of the expense of government could be 
avoided if the poor homes of the city could be converted 
into pleasant homes, with plenty of room, light, and fresh 
air. Much of government is made necessary in Qoygrnme t 
order to take the place of what is lacking iji the and the 
home life of the community. ' °°^® 

In many large cities a movement has been begun for 
the improvement of conditions in the tenement districts. 
The old, unhealthful tenements are being removed and 
better ones built. More sunlight is being let in and better 



32 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

plumbing introduced. Open courts, or yards, are pro- 
\dded in order that the people may get out of doors. 
„ , Parks and playo-rounds are beins; established 

Movement r ^ o o ^ 

toward in the vicinity of the crowded districts. The 
reform introduction of rapid transportation has done 
much to induce people to move out to the suburbs, where 
life is more healthful and where conditions are better for 
home life. 

It is much better, however, to prevent wretched home 
conditions from gaining a foothold in the community than 
to have to correct them after they have appeared. They 
are conditions that tend to appear wherever the population 
is rapidly increasing. Some of our city and state govern- 
ments have taken hold of the problem of the tenement, 

and laws have been passed, prohibiting^ the 
Laws pro- ^ . 

tectingthe building of dwellings without sufficient space 

^°^^ around them to admit light and air, requiring 

good sanitation, and forbidding the overcrowding of peo- 
ple in a single building. Unfortunately these laws are 
violated, and the government frequently fails to enforce 
them. In the smaller cities, where such conditions have 
not become sufficiently apparent to attract notice, there 
are often very few laws upon the subject. It is in these 
cities that especial care should be taken to prevent the 
growth of dangerous tenements, by the enactment of pre- 
ventive laws. 

It is not merely the character of the dwelling, however, 
that is of concern to the community. In recent years 
many laws have been enacted to protect the breadwinners 
of famihes against accident or the contracting of disease in 
their occupations ; to shorten the hours of labor, so that 
workmen may have more leisure time for recreation and 
self-improvement; to reduce the hardships of women's 



THE HOME AND THE COMMUNITY 33 

work ; to abolish child labor ; to secure the payment of 
just wages so as to assure a proper standard of living ; 
and in other ways to insure a better home life as the 
foundation of a wholesome community life and of good 
citizenship. 

It is not to be supposed that unwholesome family life 
is restricted wholly to the homes of the poor. Some of 
the worst homes are occasionally found in surroundings 
of luxury. Unless the relations between husband and 
wife, between parents and children, and between brothers 
and sisters, are of the right kind, the home will be imper- 
fect, even though it be sheltered in a beautiful dwelling ; 
and it will fail to perform its best service to the com- 
munity. 

FOR INVESTIGATION 

1. Do most of the people in your neighborhood own their homes, or 
do they rent ? Can you give illustrations to show that home owners 
take a greater interest in the community than those who rent ? 

2. Is there some section of your community where most of the peo- 
ple own their homes, and another section where most of the people 
rent ? If so, do you notice any difference in the general appearance of 
the two sections ? Do you think that the difference, if any, is due in 
any part to the fact that some of the people own and some rent ? 

3. In the back of the book (page 299) there is a table showing the 
number of homes owned and the number rented in the cities of the 
United States having 100,000 population or over. 

a. Find the city having the smallest per cent of homes owned. 
How do you account for the small per cent in this city? 

b. Find cities having large per cents of homes owned. Can you 
account for this from what you know of these cities ? 

c. Can you account for the fact that Washington, D.C., has such a 
large per cent of rented homes? 

d. Find out for what Fall River, Mass., is noted. Do you think 
there is any relation between this fact and the large number of hired 
homes? 

e. Find the figures of your own city, if it is in the table, or the nearest 
one to you, and compare it with other cities of about the same size. 



34 



THE COMMUNITY .AJsD THE CITIZEN 



4. Observe the character of the homes (dwellings, yards, gardens), 
as you pass from the center of your city to its outskirts. Is there any 
difference in their appearance? If so. why is it? 

5. Is there any tendency for formers' femilies in your neighborhood 
to move to the dty? If so. try to find the reasons for it. What be- 
comes of their farms when the femilies move away ? 

6. Is there any tendency for femilies in the city to move toward the 
outskirts of the city, or to the suburbs? If so. why? Is it chiefly the 
poorer people or the well-to-do? What happens to their old dwellings 
in the center of the cit\- ? 

7. Are flats and apartment buildings being erected to any extent in 
vour community? If so. try to find the causes. What are some of the 
ettects on family life of dwelling in flats ? 

8. What is being done in your community to improve the home life 
of the poorest fonulies ? 

9. Can you think of any public institutions in your commu- 
nitv that are made necessary by imperfect conditions of home 
life? 

10. If there is no law forbidding it has a man the right to make all 
the monev he can by crowding as many tenants into a house as it will 
hold ? Explain. 

11. Show how good home life tends to de:rr:.5r ::-e need for gov- 
ernment. 

12. Are there any tenement-house laws in your community? If so, 
what are some of the most important? 



REFERENCES 

Riis, Jacob A., " How the Other Half Lives." 

Riis, Jacob A., "The Battle with the S!m~ = ." 

Mr. Riis's books are very interesting £z.i ■ t!::\:l to an understa n di ng 
of the conditions of the slums. 

Cope, Henry ¥.. " The Home as the School of Social Li\Tng.'' pub- 
lished by American Baptist Pubhcation Society. Philadelphia. 1910. 

Hamilton. John, '•What the Government is Doing and Should Do 
for Home and Children." in National Congress of Mothers Magazine, 
June, 1909. pp. 288-293. 

Henderson, -The Social Spirit in America.** chapter II: "Home- 
Making as a Social Art.** and chapter IV: -Better Houses for the 
People.*' 

- Slums of Great Ciries. " Seventh Annual Report of the Commis- 
sioner of Labor, by E. R. L. Gould. Washington, 1894. 



THE HOME AND THE COMMUNITY 



35 



*' Housing of the Working People," Eighth Annual Report of the 
Commissioner of Labor, by E. R. L. Gould, 1895. 

" Housing and Town Planning," Annals of the American Academy 
of Political and Social Science, Philadelphia, January, 1914. 

" Housing Problems in America," Proceedings of the Second National 
Conference on Housing, 191 2. 

" Homesteads for Workingmen," Labor Bulletin No. 88, January, 
191 2, Massachusetts Bureau of Statistics. 

The Survey, published weekly at 105 E. 22d Street, New York City, 
is a useful journal in connection with many phases of civic and social 
life. Its numbers contain material on the subject of this chapter. 




A Tenement Back Yard. 



CHAPTER VII 

THE MAKING OF AMERICANS 

Next to the ties of family relationship, those of common 
nationality and language are perhaps the strongest in bind- 
The bond of ing people together in groups. Americans in 
nationauty foreign cities usually drift together and take lodg- 
ings in the same locality. When foreigners come to this 
countr\' thev tend to 2:roup themselves tosrether accordins: 
to their nationality or language. This kind of grouping 
may assume great importance in a country like ours, where 
many thousands of foreigners are pouring in upon us every 
year. 

America has always been a land of opportunity, and 
milhons of people have come here from foreign lands for the 
The foreign purpose of bettering their condition. Some have 
the United come. Hke the Pilgrims of Plvmouth, for religious 
States freedom. Others have come, hke the founders of 

Massachusetts Bay Colony, for political freedom. ]\Iany 
more have come merelv to better their material welfare. 
Thousands are coming every year because here work 
is plentiful, and the opportunity is great to earn, not merely 
a living, but land and a home with comforts that were im- 
possible in their native lands. In the ten years from 1901 
to 1910, 8,795,386 immigrants entered the United States, 
and in the three years following (1911-13) almost 3.000,- 
000 more arrived.^ Among them are representatives of 
every countr}* of Europe and many from other lands. 

^ See Appendix, pp. 3C>o-304, Tables of Immigration. 
36 



THE MAKING OF AMERICANS 



37 



The tendency of these incoming foreigners is to drift to 
sections of the United States, or of the large cities, where 
large numbers of their countrymen have already Djstribu- 
made their homes. There are sections of the tion of 
states of the Northwest, for example, where al- ^o^'^'S^^rs 
most the entire population is Scandinavian, as in parts of 
Minnesota. In other states we may often find large farm- 
ing communities of Scotch or of Germans, as in parts of 




Immigrants awaiting Inspection at Ellis Island, 
New York Harbor. 



Illinois and Pennsylvania. In some of the coal-mining 
regions, as in western Pennsylvania and in West Virginia, 
there is a large population from the Slavic countries of cen- 
tral and eastern Europe. Manufacturing towns often have 



38 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

large populations of some one nationality, like the Belgian 
glass-workers in some parts of Indiana. In cities, where 
many foreigners settle, they usually arrange themselves by 
nationality in different sections of the city. Thus we find 
in New York a section occupied almost exclusively by 
Italians, another by Chinese, another by Greeks, another 
by Jews, and so on. 

These different nationalities not only tend to Hve in 
groups, but they also think and act in groups. It is very 
Foreign common to hear at election time of the " German 
within the vote" and the "Irish vote." There are also dif- 
nation tend ferences in ideas of thrift and industrv, in forms 

to act as . - 

units of architecture, m home lite, and m many other 

ways. One section of a city may be thrifty and law-abid- 
ing because of the habits of the nationality occupying it, 
while another section will be unsightly and disorderly. 

There might' be great danger to the peace and unity of 
the United States through the immigration of so many 
The United foreigners, if they actually remained for any 
nation of length of time as distinct national groups within 
foreigners our country. But this is not usually the case. 
IMost of these immigrants begin a process of transforma- 
tion from Germans, Irish, Poles, or whatever their nation- 
ality, into Americans, almost as soon as they have landed. 
We are a nation of foreigners. Many Americans do not 
have to go back very far until they find some ancestor 
just immigrating into this country from a foreign land. 
The hundreds of thousands who are coming to our shores 

The growth ^^^^ ^'"^^^ ^^'^^^' ^^ ^^^ course of 3. few years, be 
of common proud of the name of American ; and their 
interests children, born here, will not be distinguishable 
from the great mass of Americans. This breaking down 
of the differences between the nationalities within our 



THE MAKING OF AMERICANS 



39 




A German Immigrant Family. 

country is due to the growth of common interests among 
all who live here. All came here for greater freedom of re- 
ligion, of political belief, of labor. Our government allows 
to all equal opportunities and equal rights. 

In recent years there has been a great change in the 
character of the immigration to this country. Formerly 
most of our immigrants came from northern and ^, 
western Europe — the British Islands, Scandi- type of im- 
navia, Germany. At present the countries of "^'sration 
southern and eastern Europe are sending us the great 
multitudes — Russia, Poland, Italy, Greece (see tables, 
pp. 300-302). These southern and eastern peoples differ 
greatly from the northern and western peoples in physical 
appearance and in language, thus making more difficult 
the blending of the population. They also differ in their 
social and pohtical experience, in their industrial skill and 



40 THE COMMUNITY AXD THE CITIZEN 

Standards of living. The majority of them are unskilled 
laborers. A much smaller percentage remain in this countr}'- 
to establish homes than is the case with the earlier immi- 
grants. They are also more slow to become legal citizens. 

On the other hand, it is well to remember that mere 
difference of language and customs by no means implies 
What the inferiority of character or ability. It some- 
bri^rSth times happens that immigrants who have diffi- 
him cultv in finding suitable occupations, or who are 

forced to take the work of day laborers to earn their Hving, 
are perhaps skilled in some special vocation, or talented 
in music or art, but are prevented from finding their proper 
places merely through ignorance of our language and cus- 
toms. They come from countries whose histories are 
much longer than ours and often represent civilizations in 
manv respects richer than our own. The great majority 
of those who enter come with the same noble desire for 
liberty that inspired the early colonists. In our pride in 
our own country and its people, its language and its in- 
stitutions, we must not underestimate the value of what 
the immigrant may bring to us. While hastening in every 
possible way the adjustment of the immigrant to the spirit 
of American Hfe, we should, in turn, respect the heritage 
that he brings with him and profit by the good that he has 
to offer. Not only is he to be made into an American ; he 
is also to help make America. 

There are certain classes of foreigners whom our gov- 
ernment does not permit to enter, or who may be returned 
p- , to their native countries if they succeed in land- 

immigrants ing bv eluding the vigilance of the immigration 
^'^^^ ^ officers. Idiots or insane persons, persons af- 

flicted with dangerous contagious diseases, paupers and pro- 
fessional beggars, persons who for any reason are unable 



THE MAKING OF AMERICANS 4I 

to care for themselves and are likely to become a public 
charge, criminals, grossly immoral persons, persons brought 
over under contract to perform any kind of labor, are the 
principal classes excluded. During the year ending June, 
191 3> 19*605 such persons were prevented from landing, 
and 3,461 were sent back after having landed. 




Copyright by American Pre 

U. S. Immigrant Station, Ellis Island. 
View from an aeroplane. 

In 1882 Congress passed a law known as the Chinese 
Exclusion Act. This is the only case in which our gov- 
ernment has excluded a nationahty. The chief reason for 
it in this case is that the Chinese fail to become American- 
ized in any degree. They remain a completely foreign 
community on American shores, widely different in race, 
language, and habits, while they supplant American labor- 
ers on the farms, in the mines, and in other occupations 
through their willingness to work for lower wages. 

Should immigration be further restricted ? And, if so, 
by what means ? In 1907 an Immigration Com- 
mission of nine members was created by Con- ^"^^®5 

-' restriction 

gress to make a thorough study of the problem. 

In its report the Commission said, " While the American 



42 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

people, as in the past, welcome the oppressed of other 
lands, care should be taken that immigration be such both 
in quality and quantity as not to make too difficult the 
process of assimilation." One of the methods most often 
suggested to keep out undesirable immigrants is to exclude 
all who cannot read or write in some language. Other 
methods proposed are to increase the "head tax" that 
each immigrant is required to pay on entering, to increase 
the amount of money that each immigrant must have in 
his possession when he lands, or to exclude all unskilled 
laborers who are not accompanied by their wives or fam- 
ilies. 

To hasten the process of " assimilation," it is also im- 
portant that the immigrants should be distributed through 
Distribution ^^^ country where their services are most 
of needed and where their own opportunities for 

immigrants g^(.(3gss ^^q greatest. The crowding of large 
numbers of immigrants in colonies in the large cities not 
only makes our own cit}' problems more difficult, but it 
also makes it more difficult for the immigrants themselves 
to obtain desirable homes and occupations, and retards 
their assimilation with the American people. The United 
States Bureau of Immigration, in cooperation with the 
state governments, is seeking to distribute the immigrants 
to the best advantage of themselves and of the nation. 

The Constitution of the United States says: "All per- 
sons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject 
NaturaU- to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the 
zation United States and of the state wherein they 

reside " (Amendment XIV). In order to become legal 
citizens of the United States, therefore, persons born in 
foreign countries must go through the process of naturali- 
zation. They must have lived in the United States at 



THE MAKING OF AMERICANS 43 

least five years and in the state one year, and must have 
declared, before a court, their intention of becoming citi- 
zens at least two years before their citizenship papers are 
given to them. They must also prove good character and 
declare their intention of observing the principles of the 
Constitution. They then have all the rights of native- 
born citizens, except that they may not hold the office of 
President or Vice-President. 

Women may be naturalized as well as men ; but a 
woman becomes a citizen without naturalization when her 
husband is naturalized, or when she marries a citizen. 
Children under twenty-one years of age also become legal 
citizens by the naturalization of their parents. On the 
other hand, children born abroad of parents who are citi- 
zens of the United States are citizens of the United States 
in spite of their foreign birth. 

The privilege of naturalization has not been extended 
to members of the MongoHan race. 

Persons of foreign birth who have not been naturalized 
are known as aliens. There are several millions of aliens 
residing in our country. They enjoy almost, although not 
quite, all the privileges of citizens. They are entitled to full 
protection of their lives and property by our 
government ; they may move freely about the 
country and engage in business ; they are entitled to all 
the privileges of the state courts, and to some privileges 
of the national courts; they have freedom of religious 
belief. In some states there are restrictions against the 
holding of real estate by aliens ; but many states allow it 
and by the Homestead Act (see page 48) Congress has 
given millions of acres to them. In some states aliens may 
even vote for state and national officers after having de- 
clared their intention of becoming citizens. 



44 THE COMMUNITY AXD THE CITIZEN 

In the development of our great country, with its vast 
areas of land to be reduced to the use of man, and with its 
abundant resources of all kinds, it has always it is 
been considered desirable that foreigners should J^^at thT^ 
come to our land to make it their home. But it foreigners 
is plain that if they are to be valuable members f^orm^iito 
of our community, they must have or acquire Americans 
full sympathy with our American ideas. They must be- 
come blended with the mass of Americans among 
whom they live, and become Americans themselves, not 
merely in dress and language, but in their spirit and prin- 
ciples. Down to the present time this blending has gone 
on easily and rapidly, because the great mass of the popu- 
lation has always been native born. With the increasing 
tide of immigration from foreign lands the problem be- 
comes more serious, and calls for greater caution on the 
part of government as to the admission of immigrants. 
Most of those who come will undoubtedly make excellent 
citizens. But there are many who will contribute nothing 
to our welfare, and some who will even antagonize the law 
and order which are so necessary in a community. 

It is necessary that every means be adopted to instruct 
those who come to our land in the ideals of American 
citizenship, and to make of them not merely The 
partakers of our liberty, but contributors to ^^^^biic° 
our community welfare. The school performs school 
an important sendee in this direction. It not only in- 
structs the children of foreigners in the English lan- 
guage. United States history, and other subjects that 
acquaint them with American ideas, but by bringing them 
in constant association with American children the school 
hastens the adoption of American ways. Thus these chil- 
dren of foreigners are rapidly transformed into Americans. 



THE MAKING OF AMERICANS 



45 



The very nature of the American government tends to 
destroy all differences of nationahty. It is a fundamental 
^, idea of our government that there are certain 

influence of political rights and privileges held by all in com- 
government ^^^^^ which it is the business of the government 
to protect. Our government is a strong bond of union, not 
because it holds us together in a forced union, but because 
we all have an equal interest and share in its benefits and 
responsibilities. 

FOR INVESTIGATION 

I. Let each pupil in the class fill in the following blank. Tabulate 
the results for the whole class on the blackboard, in order to show the 
blending of nationalities in the present class : 





Table showing Nationality of 


Father 


J Father's father 

1- Father's mother 


Father's grandparents \ 


Mother 


f Mother's father 

--< \ Mother's grandparents < 

1 Mother's- mother 



2. Make a list of the different nationalities to be found in your com- 
munity. Do any of these nationalities tend to form groups by them- 
selves ? If so, show on a map of your community how this grouping has 
taken place. 

3. Is there any farming community in your neighborhood composed 
entirely of some one nationality ? Are there any industries in your com- 
munity in which the workmen are wholly or largely of some foreign 
nationality? 

4. Do any of the foreign nationalities in your community tend to act 
as units (z.e. the Irish by themselves, the Italians by themselves) in 
politics, in religious matters, or in business? 

5. Are there any communities in your state composed largely of some 
one foreign nationality ? Where are they? Why did these foreigners 
settle there ? What are their occupations ? 



46 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

6. Gather some facts regarding the number of immigrants to this 
country, their nationalities, their character and conditions, their dis- 
tribution through the country and in cities. (See immigration tables in 
the appendix, page 301 ; and for further details, see also the references 
below.) 

7. Debate the question : Foreign immigration should be further re- 
stricted by the United States. 

8. Debate the question : The Chinese should be allowed free admis- 
sion to the United States as in the case of other foreigners. 

9. Do you think it is right that aliens should be allowed to vote, as 
in some states of the Union? Why? 

10. Look up the subject of fraudulent naturaUzation. (See Mayo- 
Smith, '^Emigration and Immigration," pp. 83-85; Hall, "Immigra- 
tion,"^ pp. 192-197.) 

11. Why would the persons excluded by the methods mentioned on 
page 42 be ••' undesirable " immigrants ? 

^ 12. In the table, pages 301-303. note the number of each nationality 
departing from this country as compared with the number entering. 
Which nationahties show the largest per cent remaining ? What 
reasons can you suggest for the large numbers departing ? 

13. Report on organization and work of the United States Bureau 
of Immigration and the method of inspecting immigrants. 

REFERENCES 

Hall. Prescott F.. •• Immigration." Holt (1906). 

Steiner. E. A.. -On the Trail of the Immigrant," Revell (1906). 

Steiner. E. A.. "The Immigrant Tide." Revell (1909). 

Antin. Mary. "The Promised Land." Houghton Mitflin Co. (1912). 

Jenks and Lauck. " The Immigration Problem." Funk & Wagnalls 

(1913)- 

Immigration Laws. United States Department of Labor, Bureau of 

Immigration, 191 3. 

Naturalization Laws and Regulations. United States Department of 
Labor. Bureau of Naturalization. 1913. 

In the American Magai~ine. beginning March. 1914. there is an 
interesting and suggestive series of articles by Mary Antin under the 
general subject. " They who Knock at our Gates." 

In the Popular Science Monthly, Vols. 63-66 (1903-1905). there is a 
series of interesting articles on many phases of immigration by Dr. Allan 
McLaughlin, of the L'nited States Marine-Hospital Service. 

See also the " Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature " for current 
articles. 



CHAPTER VIII 

HOW THE RELATIONS BETWEEN THE PEOPLE AND 
THE LAND ARE MADE PERMANENT AND DEFINITE 

One of the things that distinguish civiHzed men from 
savages is the fixed and permanent character of their com- 
munities. Travelers through the unbroken wil- civUization 
derness of America before its settlement by white marked by 

, , , T 1 permanence 

men reported that they saw many deserted ofcommun- 
villages. The hunting life of the Indians made i*^®^ 
a fixed dwelUng place undesirable, if not impossible. Their 
organization into clans and tribes made it of little impor- 
tance whether they lived in one place or another. In 
civilized communities, on the other hand, the land is divided 
into wards, and townships, and counties, and states ; and 
citizens have certain rights and duties which they can 
enjoy, or exercise, only in that division of the land where 
they live permanently. In the development of man, every 
step that united him more closely with the land was a 
step in the direction of civilization, as when he passed 
from the life of the hunter to that of the herdsman, or 
from the life of the herdsman to that of the farmer. 

The community described in the first chapter did not 
pitch its tents with the idea of soon moving on. It made 
arrangements to become a permanent commu- perma- 
nity with definite boundaries and divisions of ^f^^® ^ . 

-' aimed at m 

land (see page 3). A community grows and founding a 
prospers in proportion as the people and the community 
land unite definitely and permanently. 

47 



48 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

The family helps to bring about this union in a very im- 
portant way through the building of a home (see page 29). 
The service When the European nations were attempting to 
faiidf in colonize America, many of the first settlements 
this respect failed, chiefly because the settlers were adven- 
turers who had no intention of building homes here. It 
soon became apparent to the English that if they were to 
have permanent settlements in this country, it would be 
necessary to induce men to bring their families and found 
permanent homes. 

In the course of its history our nation has come into 
possession of vast territories that would be useless if they 
The were not occupied by a population that would 

settlement develop their resources. Our government has 
national hastened the occupation of this land by appeal- 
domain jj^g ^Q men's desire to own homes. To the men 
who fought in the Revolutionary War the government gave 
about 10,000,000 acres of land for settlement, and to the 
veterans of the Mexican War 60,000,000 acres, or about 
as much as is comprised in the two states of Indiana and 
Illinois. In 1862 Congress passed the Homestead Act, 
which provided that any head of a family might receive a 
quarter-section of land (160 acres) if he would live on it 
for five years and pay a small fee. Under this law about 
200,000,000 acres have been disposed of for settlement, or 
nearly as much as the land included in the states of Ohio, 
Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, ^Minnesota, and Michigan. 
Besides this, large areas have been sold to individuals at 
the low price of from Si. 25 to S2.50 per acre. Not only 
farming land, but land rich in timber and minerals has thus 
been made productive. More than 150,000,000 acres have 
been given by the government to some of the great West- 
em railroads, which have performed a valuable service in 



RELATIONS BETWEEN PEOPLE AND LAND 



49 



opening and developing the new lands. The nation has 
been enriched, while at the same time individuals, families, 
and business enterprises have been benefited. In 191 3 
there were in the United States, not including Alaska and 
our new island possessions, 297,927,203 acres of land still 
open to settlement. 











4 






Y 




X 






3 




^ 










Q 
ii 1 


2 












BAS 


S 


1 
LI 


NE 






4 


3 


2 




1 
1 


2 


3 


4 










-z. 


2 


Z 












en 


3 










W 






4 









I. X is 
Y " 
Z " 

W" 



township 3 north 
" 4 " 

" 2 south 

4 " 



range 3 west 

" 4 „east 

tt 2 iC 

" 3 west. 



After the Revolutionary War settlers began to enter the 
Ohio Valley and claim land for farms. Each settler laid 
out his own farm with little regard to the claims ^j^^ ^^^_ 
of others. The result was great confusion and ernment 
many disputes over boundary lines. The govern- ^^^®y 
ment finally put an end to this state of affairs by making 
a survey of the whole region and establishing lines by 
means of which land could be located with certainty. 
The accompanying diagrams will help to make clear the 
plan. The survey was begun by establishing certain 
north and south lines called principal meridiaits. There 



50 



THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 



are now twenty-four of these, the first being the line that 
separates Ohio from Indiana. The last runs through 
Oregon. At intervals of six miles east and west of the 
principal meridians were established other meridians 
called range lines. A parallel of latitude across this 
country was then chosen as a base line, and at intervals 



Correction 



!w' 



Base 



Une 



Line 



of six miles north and south of the base line other lines 
were established called township lines. Thus the country 
was divided into tozvnships, six miles square. These town- 
ships were then numbered east or west from a principal 
meridian, and north or south from the base line. Since 
the meridians converge as we go north (see globe), the 
townships would not be exactly square, but would become 
smaller as we go toward the pole. To correct this, certain 
parallels north and south of the base line were chosen as cor- 
rection lines from which the survey began again, as from 
the base line. Each township was divided into sections one 
mile square, which therefore contained 640 acres. These 
sections were numbered in each township from i to 36. 
Each section is divided into halves and quarters. The farm 
of each settler may be located exactly by means of this 
sur\^ey, and his boundaries are recorded in the offices of the 
government so that there can be no possible dispute over 



RELATIONS BETWEEN PEOPLE AND LAND 



51 



them. In cities the land is further subdivided into lots 
which are also numbered and recorded. Definiteness and 
permanence are thus secured. 

A great deal of the land of the nation remains unsettled. 
This is called public land. Some of it, in its natural con- 
dition, is unfit for settlement because of its bar- „ ^,. , , 

, Public Land 

ren or swampy character. The national govern- 
ment is reclaiming much of the arid land of the West to 
man's use. In 1902 Congress created the Reclamation 
Service. It has constructed reservoirs and a net-work of 



6 


5 


4 


3 


2 


1 


7 


a 
8 


9 


10 


II 


12 


18 


17 


16 


15 


14 


13 


19 


20 


21 


22 


23 


24 


30 


29 


28 


27 


26 


25 


31 


32 


33 


34 


35 


36 



40 
acres 


NE'4 
NWJ4 


Ny^ NE>^ 


80 acres 




SEK 
NEK 
40 acres 


100 acres 
SWM 


ICO acres 
SEJ4 



IV. A Section (640 acres) 
Suppose this to be section a of 
diagram III. 
Then the 160 acres in the lower 
. ^, . „ . , ^ right-hand corner is the southeast 

III. A Township Showmg Sections. (36 square , ^f 3ection 8 of township 3 north in 
miles.) Suppose this to be township X in diagram I. ^ ^^^^^ ^^^ ^^ ^^^^^ ^^^^^^ 

Then the section named a is section 8 of township 3 nE J NW J is the northeast \ of the 
north in range 3 west. 



northwest \ of section 8 of township 3 
north in range 3 west. 



canals by which the water from distant streams has been 
conducted through the arid regions, transforming them into 
productive farm lands, which have been thrown open to 
settlement. By 191 3, 1,200,000 acres had been reclaimed 
by this system of irrigation. 

Another part of the public land consists of the national 
forests, of which there were one hundred and sixty-three 
in 191 3, embracing 186,616,648 acres. 



52 



THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 



The right of the citizen to be secure in his property is 
held very sacred in the United States; but when the 
Government interests of the individual conflict with those of 
control of ^^ communitv, the former have to vield. The 

pnvate - ' • -u ■ t. 

property government may control the way m which a 
citizen uses his land. It may say to him, '' You must 










keep your premises clean, so as not to endanger the 
health of the community" (chapter IX). Or, ''Within 
certam Hmits you shall not erect wooden buildings, be- 
cause of the danger to the communit}- from fire" (chap- 
ter X). It may prohibit some kinds of business in certain 
parts of the community if they would interfere with safet)' 
or comfort, as in the case of saloons. 

If the interests of the whole community demand it, the 




Diversion Dam on Truckee River, l^h^v^ua. 

When the gates in the dam are shut, the river below the dam becomes dry, and 
the water is diverted through the headgates into the canal in the foreground. 




Truckee Irrigation Canal, Nevada. 
The canal is cement-lined and during the irrigating season carries the entire flow 
of the Truckee River thirty miles into the valley of the Carson River, the flow 
of which it supplements, and is then led by ditches over the land. 



RELATIONS BETWEEN PEOPLE AND LAND 



53 



government may even take away the land of a citizen and 
devote it to public uses. This is called the right ^^^ ^^^^^ 
of eminent domain. For example, if the national of eminent 
government wishes to build a post office, it may ^°°^^"^ 
condemn the property of private citizens, and remove all 
buildings. The state has the same right and permits 




Furrow irrigation, Arizona. 

cities, counties, and townships to exercise it. Thus, if the 
interests of the community call for a new street, it may be 
constructed through the property of individuals, even to 
the extent of removing buildings. So, also, a road may 
be built through a man's farm by the county government. 
The state also grants the exercise of the right of eminent 
domain to railroads, because of the important public serv- 
ice rendered by them. In exercising the right of emi- 
nent domain a very important condition must be complied 
with : the citizeji must be paid a just amount foi' his property. 
The Constitution of the United States provides, ** nor shall 
private property be taken for public use without just com- 



54 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

pensation " (Amendment V, last clause). If a dispute 
arises between the citizen and the government (or the 
railroad) over the price of the land, the matter mav be 
brought before a court for settlement. 

Communities may grant the use of their highways to 
private corporations that render important public service, 
^ such as street railways, telephone and telegraph 

granting of companies, and water and gas companies. The 
franchises ^-g.^^ ^^ ^^^^ pubhc land in this 3vay is called 
a francJiise. In return for the privileges of a franchise 
the corporation must render definite services to the com- 
munity, such as supplying hght of a good quality, water 
that is pure, street-car service that can be depended upon. 
The government in granting the franchise is acting solely 
for the community, and should look -carefully after the 
community's welfare. Unfortunately the officers of the 
government do not always do their duty in this matter, 
and franchises are granted that benefit a few individuals 
without securing due advantage to the community (see 
chapter XII I). 

It was said in the first paragraph of this chapter that 
our rights and duties as citizens are determined largely by 
our place of residence. Citizens of the United States 
have certain political rights, such as voting and holding 
office, and certain duties, such as paying taxes. These 
Political rights may be enjoyed, and the duties performed, 
divisions of only within certain districts which the govern- 
ment creates for this purpose. Were it not for 
this restriction, unutterable confusion would exist. Thus, 
a citizen has the right to vote within the state where he 
lives but not in any other state. The boundaries of the 
states are established by the national government (except 
the original thirteen states of the Union, whose boundaries 



RELATIONS BETWEEN PEOPLE AND LAND 55 

were fixed before the national government was organized) ; 
but they may not be changed afterward without the con- 
sent of the state. The states organize themselves into 
counties and townships.^ Villages and cities are granted 
definite boundaries by the state government, and organ- 
ize themselves into wards and precincts. There are 
also congressional, judicial, and revenue districts, the 
boundaries of which are fixed by the governments of 
the states or nation. Residence in any of these districts 
carries with it duties and rights that the citizen does not 
have elsewhere. 

The widely varied topics of this chapter illustrate the 
numerous ways in which our national, state and local gov- 
ernments serve us by giving permanence and definiteness 
to our relations with the land we occupy, and by securing 
to the community and to the citizen the largest possible 
benefits from the land. 

FOR INVESTIGATION 

1. What were the original boundaries of the town or city in which 
you live ? How was the original town laid out? On a map of your city 
mark the original city limits. 

2. Whence does the city get its authority to add to its territory ? 

3. Report on the coming of the first important factories to your com- 
munity, and show how they gave permanence to the community. 

4. Report on the coming of the first railroad to your community, 
and its effect on the permanence and growth of the community. 

5. Are there any business associations in your community that aid 
citizens in obtaining homes of their own, such as Building and Loan 
Associations ? If so, report how they operate. 

6. Find out from a real estate agent, or in some other way, how a 
piece of land in your community is laid off into lots. 

7. Make a map of your county, showing townships. 

1 In the West \}i\\?, political township usually corresponds with the township sur- 
veyed by the national government. See pages 49-50. 



§6 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

8. Find out in what range your township is with reference to the 
nearest principal meridian. Also, what is the number of your township 
from the base line? (These facts may be learned from the map of the 
United States, published by the U. S. Land Office, and mentioned 
below.) 

9. If you live in a city, tr}- to locate the lot in which you dwell by 
lot number, section, township, etc. (See the deed giving title to the 
property, or the records in the county clerk's office, or in the office of 
the city engineer.) 

10. Report more fully upon the Homestead Law. (See references.) 

11. Do you know any instance of the exercise of the right of emi- 
nent domain in your community ? Explain. 

12. What are some of the ways in which the government regulates 
the use of the land you live on? 

13. Make a list of the lands owned by government in 3-our com- 
munity, and state whether they belong to nation, state, or local com- 
munity. 

14. Describe the ward divisions of your city. How were they laid 
out ? How may their boundaries be changed ? 

15. Are there any forest or park reservations in your state ? If so, 
what is their purpose ? Locate them. Do they belong to state or nation ? 

16. Report on what has been done in the reclaiming of desert lands 
in the West or in your state by irrigation. (See references.) 

17. Has any land been given to your state by the national govern- 
ment for purposes other than schools ? If so, what ? 



REFERENCES 

A map of the United States published by the U. S. Land Office, 
which can be secured for $ i .00, shows the government sur\'ey of the 
Western lands, including principal meridians, base lines, and township 
and range lines. It also shows forest and Indian reservations, light- 
houses and life-saving stations, and other matters useful in the study. 

County and city maps are usually available at the city and county 
offices, if nowhere else. Such maps should be in each civics classroom. 

Reports of the Commissioner of the General Land Office, Depart- 
ment of the Interior, Washington. D.C. 

"Vacant Public Lands in the United States," Circular No. 259, 
General Land Office. Department of the Interior, 1913. 

Twelfth Annual Report of the Reclamation Service, Department of 
the Interior, 1912-13. 

Report of the Secretary' of the Interior. 1912-13. 



RELATIONS BETWEEN PEOPLE AND LAND 57 

"The Nation's Undeveloped Resources/' by Franklin K. Lane, 
Secretary of the Interior, in the National Geographic Magazine^ 
February, 1914- 

The "New International Encyclopedia" and the "Encyclopedia 
Americana " are excellent for looking up topics of national importance, 
such as Irrigation, Public Lands, Homestead Act. These encyclopedias 
will be of use throughout the study. 

Hart's " Actual Government " has an excellent chapter on Land and 
Landholding, including a discussion of private, corporate, and govern- 
ment landholding, the public lands, the government survey, the Home- 
stead Act. This book is most valuable as a book for the teacher's desk, 
and will be found to cover practically every topic, local, state, or 
national, referred to in this text-book. 

On the subject of irrigation the following are good : 

The Pacific Monthly, September, 1906. Contains a series of articles explaining 
the work of the United States Reclamation Service in the various irrigation dis- 
tricts of the West. 

" An Object Lesson in Irrigation," Review 0/ Reviezus, 31 : 701 (1905). 

" The Winning of the Desert," Outing, 45: 545 (1905). 

"The Government as a Homemaker," The World To-day, 10: 156 (1906). 

"Reclamation," Outlook, 2,2,: 933 (1906). 

" Uncle Sam's Romance with Science and the Soil," Arena, 35 : 36. 

See also " Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature." 



CHAPTER IX 

HOW THE COMMUNITY AIDS THE CITIZEN TO 
SATISFY HIS DESIRE FOR HEALTH 

Communities have developed through the efforts of men 
to satisfy their desires (see chapter IV). In so far as the 
community provides for the wants of its citizens, it is a 
good community ; if it fails to provide for any of them, it 
is an imperfect community, and the lives of the citizens 
will be incomplete. The deshe for health is the first to be 
provided for. 

In the conditions in which the pioneer family lived, life 
and health were almost wholly dependent upon the efforts 
The pro- and the arrangements of the family itself. 
tection _ With the clearing of the wilderness and the 

of health m ^ 

the family advance of civihzation, the preservation of life 
and health has become much less simple and direct. Not 
that the responsibility of the family has decreased in any 
way : it has rather become greater ; but the health of the 
individual has become dependent upon so many things 
outside of the family that the latter alone cannot provide 
fully for it. 

With the growth of the community, while the dangers 
peculiar to the wilderness have disappeared, new ones 
New have arisen to beset the life and health of the 

dangers citizen. Streams that were originally clear and 

arise 

with the sparkling, supplying fish for food and water to 
growth of drink, when passing through the crowded set- 

commum- x- o o ^ 

ties tlements of men become impure with the refuse 

of factories and the sewage of dweUings. They then pour 

58 




I. A section of the canal cut through solid rock. 




2. A section of the canal where it passes from the solid rock to the soft earth. 




3. The Chicago Drainage Canal. 

Three Views of the Chicago Drainage Canal. 



THE PROTECTION OF HEALTH ^g 

forth vile odors and disease germs. The drinking water 
from wells and streams becomes unsafe. With the in- 
crease of population the danger of epidemics of disease 
increases. Impure and unwholesome food is sold in the 
markets and over the counters of the stores. Wild beasts 
and savages are no longer to be feared ; but unprotected 
railroad crossings, rapidly running trolley cars and automo- 
biles, poorly constructed buildings and elevators, burning 
buildings, and robbers and thugs, constantly threaten the 
life of the unwary. In the crowded cities a vigorous out- 
door life is wanting. Men, women, and children grow 
pale and sickly because of indoor occupations, lack of 
exercise, and the breathing of air vitiated by smoke and 
foul odors. Whatever disadvantages the country child 
may suffer from an isolated life, his chances for a sound 
and healthy body, a most priceless possession, are generally 
greater than the city child's. 

As the community grows and the people become busy 
with their various caUings, it becomes necessary to arrange 
for systematic protection, and to center the re- Government 
sponsibility for it upon some designated person is given 
or group of persons. With the organization of t^g health 
a government, it is given supervision over the arrange- 

111 XI ' ^ ments 

health arrangements. In the community de- 
scribed in the first chapter, the trustees of the town 
were assigned the duty of ** securing the general health of 
the inhabitants," and of ** keeping in repair the drains and 
sewers." When the stream which ran through the town 
became clogged with sawdust from the mill, the trustees 
appointed a committee of one to investigate. He reported 
and pledged himself, " should mildness and good nature 
fail, to lend a hand in applying the strong arm of the law." 
Again, a little later, information was received of the 



6o THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

approach of a band of Swedish immigrants afflicted with 
cholera. Aid was sent to them, but they were warned 
not to enter the town, and an appeal was published in the 
little newspaper urging all to '' use every means to avert 
the impending danger. Let your premises be thoroughly 
cleansed and purified. Remove ever}'thing that will tend 
to invite disease." A board of health was soon created, 
and a cominissioner of health was appointed who was to 
have general supervision over the sanitation of the town 
and report to the board for action. A JiealtJi policeman 
was also appointed. He inspected drains, sinks, and 
cellars in private houses, and fruits and meats in the mar- 
kets. X city piiysician was appointed to care for the sick 
among the poor, and was paid by the community for his 
sen'ices. In large cities the officers who have supervision 
of the health arrangements are more numerous than in 
the smaller communities, and their duties are more exten- 
sive. They are all usually under the direction of the 
board of health: 

With the growth of a community the separate and 
inadequate drains of individual householders soon give 
^ wav to an extensive svstem of sewers under- 

Sewers 

and water lying all the Streets, connections being made with 
supply every lot and house in the city. Here the natural 

slope and drainage of the community become very important, 
because they determine the ease and effectiveness with which 
the sewage can be carried away. Sometimes it is drained 
into a stream that runs through or near the city. This is dan- 
gerous to health unless the stream is converted into a closed 
sewer of is keptpurified in someway. In Chicago the sewage 
is drained into the Chicago River, and thus, until recently, was 
carried into Lake Michigan, whence the people draw their 
supply of drinking water. The result was a great deal of 



THE PROTECTION OF HEALTH 6 1 

sickness, such as typhoid fever. The river also was a 
menace to health, because it was a foul-smelling and disease- 
breeding stream. Chemists were employed by the city to 
examine the drinking water and report its condition in the 
newspapers each day. The more careful families boiled 
all water used for drinking. But in spite of these pre- 




FiLTER Beds of the Indianapolis Water Works. 

Water from White River is brought to these beds, where it is filtered through 
layers of sand, gravel, and perforated tile. See next illustration. 

cautions thousands of people were made sick, and many 
died each year as a result of drinking this bad water. 
This situation was greatly improved by the construction of 
a drainage canal which carries the water of the Chicago 
River into the IlHnois River, and thence into the Missis- 
sippi, instead of allowing it to flow into the lake. This 
effectually disposes of the sewage of the city, keeps the 
river flushed and pure, and prevents the lake from being 
contaminated. 

A few years ago an epidemic of typhoid fever appeared 
in an Eastern city, resulting in the death of a great 



62 



THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 



many people and the sickness of many more. A careful 
inspection disclosed the fact that there had been a case 
of t}'phoid fever in a family living near the reservoir from 
which the city drew its water supply, and that this family 
had not been careful in the disposal of its sewage. The 
ground about the house had become infected with the 
disease, and heavy rains had carried the disease germs into 




Filter Bed of the Indianapolis Water Works. 

This %-ie\v shows the bed in process of construction : at the bottom a layer of per- 
forated tile, and upon this a layer of gravel is being placed. Upon this wiU be 
a layer of sand. 

the reservoir. This case illustrates the important connection 
between the drainage, the water supply, and the health of 
a community. It illustrates also the heavy responsibility 
of the individual citizen and family for the welfare of the 
whole community. The larger the community, the greater 
is the problem of preserving health. 

The most important precaution against disease is clean- 
liness. This is a matter that must be looked after principally 
in the home. Lf each family would take proper 



Cleanliness 



precautions to secure cleanliness and plenty of 



THE PROTECTION OF HEALTH 63 

fresh air, not only would the problem of disease in the 
community be largely solved, but the expense of govern- 
ment would be greatly decreased. Because of the failure 
of the family and of the individual citizen to do their part, 
the community, through its government, enacts ordinances 
to compel people to keep their premises clean and their 
drains in proper condition. Ordinances usually exist to 
prevent the filthy and dangerous practice of spitting in 
public places. This practice is one of the most effective 
means of spreading some of the worst diseases, such as 
tuberculosis or consumption, and the ordinances to prevent 
it are among the most important enacted by our city govern- 
ments. Unfortunately they are also among those most 
seldom enforced and most often violated. Here is one of 
the cases where constant and concerted action on the part 
of all cleanly and well-informed persons is necessary to 
secure the enforcement of the law. 

Every city has its street-cleaning department, which 
does not always do its work as well as it should. In -large 
cities it consists of an army of men, with horses 
and wagons and suitable machinery for sweeping cleaning 
and cleansing the streets and alleys. These men f^^ smoke 
are under the supervision of a board or a "^^^^^ ^°° 
commissioner, acting under the authority of the government 
(see chapter XXII). There are also smoke inspectors^ 
whose work is important in keeping the atmosphere pure. 
If the stoking of the furnaces in factories and large build- 
ings is done properly, the smoke nuisance can be greatly 
lessened. There are smoke consumers which aid in the 
consumption of the smoke that is otherwise poured out of 
the chimneys over the community ; but the expense and 
trouble of putting them in prevents many men from doing 
so. The community should insist, however, that the smoke 



64 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

nuisance be removed as far as possible, not only because it 
is detrimental to health, but also because it mars the beauty 
of the city. 

Of great importance in large cities is the system of parks 
provided for the recreation of the people. In small towns 
parks are not of such great importance from the 
play- standpoint of health ; but in crowded cities every 

grounds breathing place, where fresh, pure air and grass 
and trees can be found and enjo3'ed by the people, is of un- 
told value. One of the best of the charitable works in large 
cities is that by which thousands of poor children are sent 
to the country or the seashore, or to "fresh-air farms," 
during the summer months. This is doing much to lessen 
the death rate and the sickness in the crowded tenement dis- 
tricts. In the rapid growth of American cities not enough 
care has been taken to provide for parks. Provision should 
be made in all growing cities to leave spaces that may be 
converted into beautiful and refreshing parks as need arises. 
In some cities playgrounds are being established and pro- 
vided with tennis courts, ball grounds, and gymnastic appa- 
ratus. The opening of school yards as playgrounds during 
vacation periods is a good practice that is growing. 

Cities have hospitals, some supported by private organi- 
zations, such as churches, and some supported at public 
Hospitals; expense. The public hospitals are under the 
quarantine charge of physicians, surgeons, and nurses paid 
out of the public treasury. Precautions are taken against 
the spread of contagious diseases. The government has 
the right to declare a quarantine against a home, or even 
against a whole section of the city ; this means that, in 
case of the existence of a contagious disease, the occu- 
pants of the dwelhng or of the section of the city may be 
prevented from leaving it, and others prevented from 



THE PROTECTION OF HEALTH 65 

entering it. Physicians are required by law to report 
contagious disease to the health officers, who placard the 
house, proclaiming the existence of the disease. Persons 
in whose homes such diseases exist may be prevented 
from going about their ordinary business, and the children 
from going to school. Physicians sometimes grow care- 
less about reporting such cases of sickness, and families, 
thinking solely of their own convenience, often try to con- 
ceal the presence of contagious disease in their homes. 
This is not good citizenship. Such families endanger the 
health of others. Much is being done in some of our 
cities to prevent the spread of disease by a systematic 
medical inspection in the schools. 

Just as an individual, or a family, is dependent for health 
on other individuals and families in the neighborhood, 
so also a community is more or less dependent on other 
communities for its health. This is especially true in 
these days when the means of communication are so fully 
developed and when travehng is so common. Contagious 
diseases spread rapidly from town to town, and not infre- 
quently cover large districts at the same time. When an 
epidemic of smallpox breaks out in one city, it is Dependence 
likely to appear in other cities, and even in the of one 
country districts. Any ship that enters our har- ^p™™""^ ^ 
bors may bring with it diseases from the slums another for 
of Europe or of Asia. When a factory pollutes 
the stream that runs by it with refuse, it threatens the 
health, not only of the immediate community in which it 
is situated, but also of other communities farther down the 
stream. When Chicago turned its sewage into the drain- 
age canal, and thence into the IlHnois and Mississippi 
rivers, cities and towns for many miles along these streams 
became very much alarmed, and St. Louis, which derives 



66 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

its drinking water from the Mississippi, brought suit in the 
courts against Chicago. Fortunately, in this case, it was 
proved that the water becomes freed from impurities, by 
contact with the air, before it reaches these other cities. 
Our community life is very compHcated, and it is not 
always easy to foresee how the actions of one individual or 
community may affect the lives of others. 

On account of this interdependence in matters pertaining 

to health, it is not safe to leave their regulation wholly to 

each separate community, any more than to 

for^state leave it to each separate family. The common 

supervision interests of all the communities within a given 

over health ^ , . . 

area must be guarded by some common au- 
thority. Hence the state, through its government, makes 
provision for the health of all the people subject to its 
laws. There is a state board of health which has super- 
vision over these matters. The state government en- 
deavors to prevent the pollution of the streams. Laws are 
enacted to prevent the adulteration of foods. A state 
government may declare a quarantine against neighbor- 
ing states when contagious diseases are prevalent. When 
yellow fever appears in New Orleans, the surrounding 
states often refuse to allow passengers on the railways to 
enter from Louisiana except after the most rigid medical 
inspection. City, county, and township governments, in 
their regulation of matters pertaining to health, must con- 
form to the broader regulations of the state. 

While the protection of the health of citizens is left 
almost entirely in the hands of the state and local gov- 
ernments, there are some things that can be better looked 
after by the national government, because they are of 
national interest. All immigrants from foreign countries 
are required to undergo a medical inspection before they 



THE PROTECTION OF HEALTH 6/ 

are allowed to land. If signs of disease are found, the 
passengers of the ship may be quarantined until the danger 
of contagion is past. Immigrants who are in ^^atth 
such physical condition that they are unable to national 
care for themselves, and would therefore be a doerfw^the 
burden on the community, are required to re- health of 
turn to the country from which they came. In "*^^®^^ 
a recent session of Congress laws were passed providing 
for the inspection of meats put up in the packing houses 
of the country, and to prevent the adulteration of foods 
with injurious materials. Since the product of a great 
packing or canning estabhshment is sent all over the 
country, its purity is a matter of national interest, and 
therefore is a proper subject for regulation by the national 
government. 

The engineers and medical staff of the United States 
army have done much in recent years to prevent loss of 
life through the ravages of disease. Not only have they 
found ways to prevent epidemics of typhoid fever and 
other diseases that formerly prevailed in military camps 
and destroyed more soldiers' lives than were lost in battle, 
but they have even caused such dread diseases as smallpox 
and yellow fever to disappear almost completely from re- 
gions occupied by our army, as in Cuba, Panama, and the 
PhiHppines. This has* been done in part by better sani- 
tary arrangements, in part by discovering how such dis- 
eases were carried, as by mosquitoes or rats, and destroy- 
ing the carriers, in part by medical discoveries that prevent 
people from contracting the diseases. This service of our 
army engineers and medical men has been of untold bene- 
fit to the entire world. 

The community is thus doing a great deal, through gov- 
ernment, to preserve the Hfe and health of its citizens, and 



6S THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

it owes to each citizen a reasonable assurance that protec- 
tion will be afforded. On the other hand, each citizen 
owes something to the community in this matter. As we 
have seen, the health of the whole community depends 
_., _ largely upon the cleanliness and w^atchfulness 

sibiuty of of each family. The responsibility of the citi- 
the citizen ^^^ ^^^^ much further than this. He should 
do what he can to secure from the government the best 
possible service in these matters. If a man employs a 
watchman to guard his premises at night, and the watch- 
man fails to do his duty, the owner will certainly call him 
to task, and will take every precaution against a repetition 
of the negligence. The people have a right to demand 
that their government watchmen do their work well, and 
to hold them accountable for every failure. It is unfortunate 
that the officials charged with important duties of govern- 
ment, even in such matters as protecting our lives and 
health, often become negligent and careless. They can- 
not be relieved of the blame for this. Yet their poor serv- 
ice is largely the fault of the citizens themselves, who do 
not take the trouble or the interest to inquire how their 
servants are doing their work, or to call them to account 
when it is badly done. Each citizen must constantly keep 
his eyes open, and endeavor to maintain a lively public 
sentiment in these matters by constant discussion. He 
should always be wilHng to call attention to any remissness 
in the enforcement of the laws. This is not merely a duty 
to others ; his own welfare depends on it. 

FOR mVESTIGATION 

I. When your community was first founded, were the geographical 
conditions favorable or unfavorable to health? As the community 
has grown, have these geographical conditions become more or less 
fevorable? Explain. 



THE PROTECTION OF HEALTH 69 

2. How is health cared for in the average farmer's family? In a 
city family? 

3. If there are any records available from which to gain the infor- 
mation, compare the means of protecting health in the early days of 
your community with the means used at present. 

4. If you live in a rural community, what is done by the county 
and township governments for the protection of your health ? 

5. If there is a board of health in your city, of how many mem- 
bers does it consist? How is it chosen? What are its duties ? 

6. What officers are employed by the city for the protection of 
health? Report on their various duties. 

7. Report on the street-cleaning department — what it does, what 
it costs, how it is managed, etc. 

8. Report on the sewage system of your community. How is the 
sewage disposed of ? Cost ? Efficiency? 

9. Report on the methods of disposing of garbage in different cities. 
What methods seem to be best? What method is used in your city? 

10. Report on the water supply for drinking purposes. To what 
extent are private wells used? What is the source of the public 
water supply? Compare the purity of the water from private wells 
and from the public supply. 

11. Do you know of any epidemic (such as typhoid fever) that has 
appeared in your community, and that was directly traceable to impure 
drinking water? To impure milk? 

12. Report on means of keeping the atmosphere pure in your 
community. 

13. What means are employed in your community to secure pure 
food? 

14. Report on the park system of your cornmunity. How is it man- 
aged? Is anything being done to establish pubHc playgrounds? 

15. Is the ventilation of your school building good? Can you do 
anything yourself to improve it? 

16. Write an essay on the subject, " The Relation of Athletics in the 
School to the Health of the Community.'' 

17. Is there any kind of medical inspection in your school? If so, 
explain its working. Find out if there are any well-established cases 
where epidemics have been prevented or checked by school medical 
inspection in your community, or in other cities. 

18. What are some of the ordinances in your community for the pro- 
tection of health? Are any of these ordinances commonly violated? 
If so, why? Can you do anything to help secure the enforcement of 
such ordinances? 



70 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

19. Report on the work of your state board of health. (So far as 
possible printed repons should be secured directly from the proper 
offices.) 

20. What other state health officers are there? What is their work? 

21 . Look up the story of how our government waged war on disease 
in Cuba. What have been the results? Why should our national gov- 
ernment interest itself in the matter ? (The same may be done with 
reference to the Philippines or the Panama Canal Zone.) 

22. Look up the story of the most recent war against yellow fever in 
our own Southern states. Was it carried on by the local, state, or 
national orovemment? Whv? 



REFERENCES 

Allen. William H.. - Civics and Health."' Ginn & Company (1909). 

Burks. T- D. andF. W., " Health and the School." Appletons (1913). 

The last mentioned book contains a bibliography that will prove 
useful. The Uterature on public health is abundant. Reference should 
be made to the Readers" Guide to Periodical Literature under the gen- 
eral headings of " Health." •• Sanitation."" etc.. or under special headings 
such as ■• Street cleaning." ■• Food.*" etc. 

The following will be useful : 

Harper's Monthly, April, 1912 : " The Xew Meaning of Public Health," by 
Robert Bruere. 

The Outlook, Dec. 7, 1912 : " The Problem of National Health," by Earl Mayo. 

Annals American Academy of Political and Social Science, March, 1910 : " Pub- 
lic Recreation Facilities." March, 1911 : " The Public Health Movement." 

National Geographic Magasine, March, 1914: "Redeeming the Tropics," by 
W. J. Showalter. 



CHAPTER X 

HOW THE COMMUNITY AIDS THE CITIZEN TO PROTECT 
HIS LIFE AND PROPERTY 

One of the chief sources of danger to property, and often 
to life, is fire. The loss from fire in the United States every 
year averages about ^170,000,000. Much of Danger 
this might be avoided if each citizen were more ^^°°^ ^^^ 
careful ; but fire is too powerful an enemy to be left to the 
individual or to the family to cope with, especially in cities. 
If a farmer's house or barn is burned, he himself, or some 
member of his family, is usually to blame for it, and he must 
depend on his own efforts to prevent the loss. In the city 
the safety of a citizen's home depends largely on his neigh- 
bors. Fire is an enemy that endangers the whole commu- 
nity ; the whole community must unite for defense against it. 

In Philadelphia, in Benjamin Franklin's time, "each 
householder kept in his shop or his pantry a bucket and four- 
teen-foot swab ; while the city provided hooks, ^.^^j 
ladders, and three rude engines of English make, methods of 
At the first cry of fire the whole town was in ^^ ^ *^°^ 
excitement; the laborer quit his work, the apprentice dropped 
his tools, buyers and sellers swarmed from the market, and 
the shopkeeper, calling his wife to watch his goods, seized 
his bucket and hurried away. About the burning building 
all was confusion and disorder. No man was in authority. 
Each man did as he pleased. Some fell into line and helped 
to pass the full buckets from the pump to the engine, or the 

71 



-2 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

empty buckets from the engine to the pump; some caught 
up the hooks and pulled down blazing boards and shingles ; 
some rushed into the building with their bags, and came 
out laden with household stuff." Franklin, who was always 
on the lookout for opportunities to improve the condition 
of his community, thought that " if so much could be done 
in a way so bad, a hundredfold more could be done if a 
little order were introduced." He aided in the organization 
of several fire companies equipped with the best apparatus 
of the times and working together under discipline, which 
greatlv reduced the losses from fire in Philadelphia. 

At one time the fire companies of cities were volunteer 
organizations, whose eflficiency was kept up largely through 
the spirit of rivalry. Frequent tournaments were 
teer fire held in which the companies of the community, 
companies ^^ ^^ ^^^ neighboring towns, contested with each 
other in running, climbing ladders, and other feats. Such 
organizations may still be found in small communities. 

In modern cities the fire-fighting arrangements are much 
more complicated and effective. Steam fire engines and 
elaborate apparatus of all kinds have been in- 
fig°hti^^"" vented. Horses, trained until they show almost 
arrange- human intelligence, draw the engines and trucks 
™^^*^ to the fire at a run. A system of electric sig- 

nals is in operation in every city, so that a fire can be 
announced instantly to the nearest fire station, and within 
a minute after the receipt of the signal the horses are going 
down the street at a gallop, with men and apparatus. The 
firemen are organized into permanent companies with per- 
fect discipline, and are paid by the community. The 
whole department is under the direction of a chief, who is 
appointed by the mayor or by a board. The New York 
Cit}- fire department is the largest in the world and com- 



THE PROTECTION OF PROPERTY AND LIFE 



73 



prises about 5000 firemen, 1300 horses, 200 fire engines, 
more than 100 hook and ladder trucks, and several fire 
boats for the protection of property along the water front. 

An important part of the means of protection against 
fire is a reliable water supply. At first private wells and 
cisterns supplied water for fires ; then public The water 
cisterns were built at convenient points. Now supply 
every large city is supplied with water from some unfailing 
source. Cities on the Great Lakes, like Chicago, draw their 
water from them. Cincinnati and St. Louis receive theirs 
from the rivers on which they are situated. Inland cities 
sometimes get their water from deep wells. It is often 
necessary to provide storage reservoirs. The water is 
forced to every part of the city through pipes, and hydrants 
at the street corners or other convenient points serve for 
the attachment of hose. Waterworks are sometimes owned 
and operated by cities themselves, but usually by private 
companies which receive a franchise from the city. 

No department of the public service in cities is better 
organized or more efficient than the fire department. It has 
upon it a great responsibility, and the community 
will not be satisfied with anything but the greatest ^f city fi^r^ 
efficiency possible. The service requires men of depart- 
intelligence, sobriety, courage, and endurance ; 
men who are willing constantly to risk their lives for the 
good of all. 

It has been said that seven eighths of the fires that occur 
are the result of a lack of proper precautions in building. 
That this is true is due, in part, to a lack of in- „ ., 

' ^ ' Faulty con- 

telligence on the part of builders ; in part to the struction of 
willingness of men to take chances for the sake ^"^^dings as 

° a cause of 

of cheapness. In either case the person re- loss from 
sponsible for poor construction of buildings is a ^®^ 



74 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

menace to the community. A builder is showing good 
citizenship when he does his job well ; poor citizenship, 
when he does it badly through ignorance, carelessness, 
or avarice. 

Communities try to protect themselves against loss of 
property and life from fire by means of laws regulating the 
Building materials used in construction, the height of 
ordinances buildings, the number of exits, the presence of 
fire escapes, and many other details. Building inspectors 
are appointed. An unsafe building may be condemned 
and its use forbidden until its defects are remedied. It 
would seem that the people would take a great interest 
in the safe construction of their buildings, and that the laws 
protecting them would be rigidly enforced ; but such is not 
always the case. For a long time no accident happens. 
The people become careless, and the laws regulating build- 
ing are violated constantly. Of 333 tenement houses 
which were being built in New York at one time, it is said 
that only 15 conformed to the law. It requires some great 
disaster to arouse the people to their own responsibility. 
Such was the Iroquois theatre fire in Chicago, in 1903, in 
which 600 people lost their lives. 

In order to prevent great loss to individuals from fire, 

fire insurance companies have been organized. It is to be 

noted, however, that insurance companies do 

Fire ' ^ 

insurance not actually prevent the loss of property. They 
companies ^lerely distribute that loss among many citizens. 
When a man insures his property, he has to pay the com- 
pany 2. proniiim for the protection afforded. The premi- 
ums of thousands of persons produce a large sum of 
money out of which the occasional losses by an individual 
are met. Thousands of property owners in all parts of 
the land are thus sharing in the losses of individuals. 



THE PROTECTION OF PROPERTY AND LIFE 75 

When the great fire occurred in San Francisco, following 
the earthquake in 1906, the loss fell very heavily on the in- 
surance companies. In order to meet the loss many com- 
panies raised the rates of insurance all over the country. 
Thus people everywhere were helping to bear the burden. 
Fire insurance companies have an influence in keeping 
fire departments efficient, for they raise the rates of in- 
surance when they think that fire protection is not so good 
as it should be. The people who have to pay these rates 
then demand better equipment and better organization in 
their fire departments. 

Property and life are endangered also by thieves and 
other enemies of good order. In rough communities on 
the frontier, before government and law are ^^ 
well established, as in the early days of CaUf or- from law- 
nia, the honest but rough citizens sometimes pro- ^^®^^®^^ 
tect themselves by voluntary organizations, frequently 
known as vigilance committees. They seek out offenders 
and punish them promptly, too often without giving them 
a fair trial. Similar methods are sometimes found in com- 
munities where there is a regular government, as in the case 
of "white-capping" and lynching parties. Such methods 
are full of evil. They are usually carried out under cover 
of darkness and in secret, thus opening a way for rowdy- 
ism and violence under a pretense of administering justice. 
A crowd of men gathered together hastily in a spirit of 
revenge quickly becomes a mob, and is likely to adminis- 
ter punishment to innocent persons, or cruel and inhuman 
punishment to the guilty. 

One of the most sacred rights of Americans is the right 
to a fair trial, before a jury of fellow-citizens, even though 
the accused is known to be guilty. This right jj^g ^^ j^^ ^^ 
is guaranteed in the Constitution of the United a fair trial 



76 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

States, which says also that no cruel and unusual punish- 
ments shall be inflicted (see Amendments VI and VIII). 
It declares also that no person shall be " deprived of 
life, liberty, or property without due process of law" 
(Amendment V). Vigilance committees may be in a 
measure justified in communities where there is no regu- 
larly organized government or law; but white-capping 
and lynching parties in communities with regularly or- 
ganized governments are wholly without excuse. Such 
parties usurp powers granted by the Constitution to the 
existing government, and are as lawless as the original 
offender. They tend to create a disregard for law and 
order and disrespect for government. 

Our local governments have officers to protect the life 
and property of citizens, and to arrest persons who inter- 
fere with the rights of others. In townships 
there are constables; in counties, sheriffs and 
their deputies ; in cities, the poHce department. The 
police department requires a high degree of organization 
because of the complex conditions of city life. Before the 
middle of the last century the poHce of our cities were as 
poorly organized as the fire departments of Franklin's 
time. In New York, although the population numbered 
more than 300,000, the policing of the city at night was 
performed by a body of citizens who pursued other occu- 
pations during the day. In the city of greater New York 
the police force consists now of more than 10,000 men, as 
many as constituted the American army at its best during 
the Revolutionary War. It is organized very much Hke 
an army, under a chief of poHce and many subordinate 
officers. 

The poHce of a city patrol its streets at all times of the 
day and night to protect property and life against vio- 



THE PROTECTION OF PROPERTY AND LIFE 



17 



lence. They keep order in crowds ; they guard Duties of 
dangerous street crossings, assisting people the police 
across and regulating the movements of vehicles ; they 
assist the health department in enforcing its regulations ; 
they render aid at fires in keeping the crowds back for 
their own safety, and to prevent interference with the work 
of the firemen ; they restore lost children to their homes. 
As in the case of the fire department, the duties of the 
police require strength, courage, and inteUigence. It is a 
misfortune, however, that the police departments of our 
cities are not always as efficient as the fire departments 
(see pages 235-6). The police department of the city often 
works together with the sheriff of the county and his dep- 
uties, and in times of great danger private citizens may 
be sworn into service to aid the police. At all times the 
police may call on private citizens for aid if necessary. 
Offenders against the persons or property of citizens are 
brought for trial before the police (or magistrates') courts 
of cities ; or, for more serious offenses, before the higher 
courts of the state (see chapter XXIII). 

Another important arrangement for the safety of prop- 
erty and life is a system of street lighting. In ancient 
cities, as in Rome, the streets were narrow and street 
crooked, and at night were totally dark, except ^^g^^^^g 
as citizens lighted their way with torches. Philadelphia had 
no regular system of street lamps until it was established 
by Franklin. Modern American cities as a rule have 
broad, straight, paved streets, illuminated at night by oil, 
gas, or electric fights. The street-lighting plant is some- 
times owned by the city and managed by the government ; 
but it is usually in the hands of private companies paid 
by the city for their services. 

Communities often regulate certain kinds of business for 



yS THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

the sake of safety. The manufacture of explosives is 
R ui ti n dangerous to life and property, and is therefore 
of business usually Carried on under restrictions as to the 
for safety location of the factory. The liquor traffic is often 
restricted to certain localities, and is checked by the im- 
position of license fees. In some communities it is pro- 
hibited altogether. A large part of the poHcing of a city 
is made necessary by the disorders growing out of the 
sale of intoxicating liquors. Pawn shops are subject to 
regulation by government to prevent them from receiv- 
ing and disposing of stolen goods. 

In a large community each man's life and safety de- 
pend, to a great extent, on the carefulness of others. 
Prevention The thousands of people who travel on the cars 
of accidents ga.ch day are at the mercy of those who run the 
train — the engineer, the conductor, the switchman, the 
train dispatcher. Gross carelessness on the part of such 
responsible persons may be considered a criminal offense, 
and may be punished by the proper authorities ; but it is 
better to prevent accidents than to punish the responsible 
person after the accident occurs. Therefore the work of 
such persons is usually regulated by law, and arrange- 
ments are made to prevent accident. Railroads may be 
compelled to station watchmen at dangerous crossings, to 
provide gates that are closed at the approach of a train, or 
to run their tracks across streets on elevated roadways or 
underneath the street. The rate of speed at which a 
train, or electric car, or automobile may run is estabUshed 
by law, and violations of the law are punishable by fine. 
The government also appoints building inspectors and 
boiler inspectors. These are only examples of many pre- 
cautions taken to prevent accident to life and property. 

Here again we have to notice the constant violation and 



THE PROTECTION OF PROPERTY AND LIFE 79 

lax enforcement of the law. Trains rush through cities and 

across streets at unlawful speed. Street cars and Lax 

automobiles do the same. Railroads often resist enforcement 
, , of laws to 

as long as they can attempts to compel them prevent 
to elevate their tracks, or to provide safety accident 
gates. Elevators are run by incompetent persons and 
without inspection of the machinery. Inspectors do their 
work in a careless manner. Theatres are built without 
due regard to the number and position of exits. The 
individual who disregards the regulations imposed by the 
community, even in such slight matters as the speed of his 
bicycle, or the lighting of its lamp on a dark night, is help- 
ing to make his community an unsafe and unpleasant 
place in which to live. 

In 191 2, 78,700 persons lost their lives by accident in 
the United States. A much larger number were more 
or less seriously injured. For example, while ^ ^ 
there were 41 persons killed in Fourth of July for accident 
accidents, there were 947 who were injured. P'"®^®"*^^" 
Because of the movement for a more intelligent celebra- 
tion of Independence Day, the total number of such acci- 
dents decreased from 5623 in 1908 to 988 in 191 2. A 
very large number of injuries, many of them fatal, are 
received by persons in their regular occupations. These 
are known as industrial accidents. In the year 191 1, for 
example, there were 2719 men killed and 31,334 injured 
in the coal mines of the United States. 

The United States Bureau of Mines has been active in 
its efforts to increase the safety of mining operations, by 
investigating the causes of mine accidents and urging 
measures to prevent them. There is now a pretty general 
movement for the prevention of industrial accidents. In 
the American Museum of Safety in New York City there 



8o THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

may be seen all kinds of de\'ices for the protection of 
those who work with machinery or in dangerous places. 
Railroads and industrial organizations are adopting 
" Safety First " as their watchword. In order to compel 
employers to take every possible precaution for the safety 
of their employees, laws have been passed, known as 
"employers' liabilit}' laws," which hold the employer re- 
sponsible for accidents occurring to workmen in their em- 
ploy. Many industrial accidents, however, are due wholly 
or in part to carelessness on the part of the workmen 
themselves. Both employers and employees have a moral, 
if not a legal, responsibility for the safety of themselves 
and others. 

Although the protection of property and life is largely 
in the hands of the local communities, most of the laws 
that local officers are called on to enforce are made by the 
state government, and apply ahke to all the communities 
of the state. 

The state militia corresponds, in a measure, to the police 
of cities. It consists of all able-bodied male citizens of 
The state the States and territories and of the District of 
°^ti^ Columbia, and of all able-bodied males of for- 

eign birth who have declared their intention to become 
citizens, who are between eighteen and forty-five years of 
age. It is di\-ided into two parts : the organized mihtia, 
known as the National Guard of the several states, terri- 
tories, or the District of Columbia ; and the reserve militia, 
including all the remainder of those eligible to serve. In 
case of riot or disorder or calamity which the local authority 
cannot handle, the governor of the state may send the 
National Guard to aid in restoring order, as in the case of 
recent labor troubles in the Colorado coal mines (see page 
82), or during the floods in Ohio in 191 3. 



THE PROTECTION OF PROPERTY AND LIFE 8 1 

The militia may be called out by the President of the 
United States to suppress insurrection or to repel invasion. 
It then becomes a part of the volunteer forces of the army 
of the United States, is subject to the same regulations as 
the regular army, and may be used either within or with- 
out the territory of the United States. 

In the Revolution and in the War of 1812 the militia 
caused much trouble because of the jealousies of the sev- 
eral states. Governors sometimes refused to allow their 
miHtia to go outside of their states. Then, too, as in more 
recent wars, the militia has sometimes been poorly officered, 
poorly drilled, and impatient of discipHne. Laws have 
been passed by Congress to remedy these defects, the most 
recent being that of 1914, which gives the President au- 
thority to appoint the officers of the militia in time of war. 

For the defense of our national possessions and of the 
liberty of our citizens against enemies from without, we 
maintain an army and a navy. Our army is National 
very small as compared with the armies of other defense 
nations. Our geographical position, separated as we are 
from other great powers, has made a large standing army 
unnecessary. The belief of the founders of our nation was 
that a large standing army was dangerous to the liberties 
of the people and a burden of expense. Our policy there- 
fore has always been in favor of as small an army as is 
consistent with our national safety. In time of war our 
dependence has been chiefly on the militia or army of citi- 
zens enhsted for the occasion. At the time of the Civil 
War an army of more than 2,000,000 men was raised by 
enlistment in the North, and one of 1,000,000 men in the 
South. At the present time it would be possible to raise a 
vastly greater army than this, although our standing army 
of regular soldiers numbers less than 100,000 men. 



82 



THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 



The army not only defends our territory against invasion, 
but it may also be sent to any part of the world to protect 
the rights of American citizens. It may be 
called on to quell local disturbances when the 
state authorities are unable to do so. In the recent Colo- 
rado mine troubles referred to above (page 80) the state 
and local authorities failed to maintain order. The dis- 



The army 




Lawrenceburg, Ind., during the Flood of the Ohio River in 1883. 



turbance assumed national importance. Therefore the 
President of the United States, who is commander-in-chief 
of the army, sent national troops to take charge of the situ- 
ation. At the time of the earthquake and fire in San 
Francisco national troops from the fort near by were 
rushed into the city to help in maintaining order and in 
protecting property and life. They, of course, cooperated 
with the state militia and the city police. The national 
troops are usually more effective in restoring order than 
either the militia or the police. 



THE PROTECTION OF PROPERTY AND LIFE 83 

The navy is another means of national protection. It 
has been the policy of the American government to limit 
our navv to the smallest size consistent with _ 

'' The navy 

national safety, as in the case of the army. But 
because of our rapidly growing commerce and the increas- 
ing interests of American citizens in foreign lands, together 
with the acquisition of territory across the seas, a strong 




Building the Levee at Lawrenceburg, Ind., for the Protection of 
THE City against Floods. 



navy has become more essential than a large army. At 
the present time our navy compares favorably in strength 
with the navies of other large nations. 

Many people believe that our navy should be greatly 
strengthened year by year. Others believe that such war- 
like preparations should be checked. Both The peace 
parties are desirous of peace with all the world ; movement 
but one party believes that the surest way to maintain 
peace is to be thoroughly prepared for war, while the 
other party would impress the world with our peaceful 
intentions by ceasing to prepare for war. The cost of the 



84 



THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 



navy is increasing at a rapid rate with the increasing size 
of battleships and armaments. Proposals have recently 
been made to seek an agreement among the nations to 
stop naval construction for a time. Xo one nation feels 
that it can stop building as long as the others continue to 
do so. It is beUeved by the friends of this plan that it 



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An Ohio River Flood seen from the Top of the Le^tee at 

Lawrenceburg, Ixd. 

The city is now entirely protected by the great embankment 

Notice the railroad tracks on the levee for safety. 

would be a step in the direction of universal peace, besides 
relieving the nations of a vast burden of expense. 

The national government has done a great deal for the 
protection of life and property by removing obstructions 
Life-saving to navigation along the coast, by improving 
on the coast harbors, as at New York and at the mouth 
of the Columbia River, by erecting Hghthouses and 
establishing life-sa\ing stations. Every year the life- 



THE PROTECTION OF PROPERTY AND LIFE 85 

savers perform deeds of heroism by which scores of lives 
and thousands of dollars' worth of property are saved. 
The national government has constructed levees along 
some of our rivers, as on the lower courses of the Missis- 
sippi, for the protection of the land against floods. 

We may learn from this chapter that the protection of 
our lives and property is placed almost wholly in the 
hands of the local governments; that the state govern- 
ment acts only when the welfare of the Protection 

ctiiGfiv in 

whole state demands it, or when the difficulties the hands of 
to be met are beyond the powers of the local local and 

-' '- state gov- 

authorities; and that the national government ernments 
acts for the nation at large, and interferes in local pro- 
tection only when the interests of the whole nation are at 
stake, or when the local and state authorities prove them- 
selves incapable of handling the situation. 



FOR INVESTIGATION 

1. What were the means of fighting fires in your community in the 
early days? How did the methods compare with those of Franklin's 
time? 

2. Describe the organization of the fire department in your city. 
How is the highest degree of efficiency among the firemen secured? 

3. Report on the waterworks system of your city. Is it efficient? 
If not, why ? 

4. Try to find out the chief causes of the fires in your community 
in the last year. What may you do to prevent them? 

5. From the city ordinances find some of the regulations regarding 
the construction of buildings. 

6. Is there building inspection in your community? Is violation 
of building ordinances common? 

7. Report on the duties of the constable. Of the sheriff. 

8. Describe the organization of the police department. What 
qualifications must a man have to receive appointment as a policeman 
in your community? 

9. Look up the services of Benjamin Franklin in Philadelphia in 



86 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

improving the fire department, the night watch, and the lighting of 
the streets (see Franklin's Autobiography). 

ID. What is the method of street lighting in your community? Is it 
done bv the community itself, or by a private company? Is it as well 
done as it should be ? 

11. What kinds of business in your community are regulated for the 
protection of life and property ? 

12. W^hat other ways can you find in which property is protected 
besides those mentioned in this chapter? 

13. Investigate the subject of the \-iolation of speed regulations, and 
other regulations to secure safety on the streets of your city. 

14. Have vou an organization of militia in your community? Find 
out what you can about its organization. Tr}- to find out something 
about the following points : a. What is the numerical strength of the 
militia in your state? b. How are its officers chosen? c. What in- 
stances do you know of your state militia being called out to suppress 
disorder? 

15. Find out what you can about the organization of the United 
States army ; of the United States navy. 

16. Find out what you can about the work of the life-saving service 
of the United States. 

17. Report on instances of the use of the army in time of calamity 
other than war. 

18. Report on the cost of a modem battleship, and of the American 
navy for one year. 

19. Report on devices for the prevention of industrial accidents. 

20. Discuss methods by which you may reduce the danger of 
accidents in vour dailv life. 



REFERENCES 

For information regarding the organization of branches of local gov- 
ernment, such as the fire and pohce departments, the cit}- charter and 
cit}' ordinances may be consulted. In many cases there may be printed 
reports of the departments in question. It will often be impracticable 
to expect the whole class to gather full information on such matters ; 
but one or two pupils may make special reports. 

Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography. 

Riis, Jacob, " Heroes Who Fight Fires." in Century Magazine, 33 : 483. 
Forman, " Advanced Civics," chapter XXXIII. 

Hart, A. B., " Actual Government," pp. 462-477. for the organization of the 
army, the navy, and the miUtia ; pp. 573-582 (fire protection, pohce, etc) . 



THE PROTECTION OF PROPERTY AND LIFE 8/ 

Fairlie, J. A., " Municipal Administration," chapter VIII, " Public Health and 
Safety." 

"Wilcox, D. F., " The American City," chapter VI, " Municipal Insurance." 

" Chief Causes of Fires," in The American City, July, 1914, p. 41. 

Conkling, " City Government in the United States," chapters V, VI. 

Adams, W. H. S., " The Story of our Lighthouses and Light Ships." 

" Heroes of Peace," Century Magazine, 55 : 925 ; 58 : 210. 

" Organization and Methods of the Life-Saving Service " ; a pamphlet that may 
be obtained from the Superintendent of the Life-Saving Service, Washington, D.C. 

Report of the United States Life-Saving Service, 1913, Treasury Department, 
Washington, D.C. 

The location of lighthouses and life-saving stations may be seen on the Land 
Office Map of the United States already referred to. 

Report of the Secretary of War, 1913, Washington. 

Report of the Secretary of the Navy, 1913, Washington. 

" The Doom of War," by Arthur Deerin Call. Published by the American 
Peace Society, 1914. Pp. 3-5 give striking figures relative to the cost of the navy. 

On the Peace Movement see the publications of the American Peace Society, 
Colorado Building, Washington, D.C. 

Publications of the American Museum of Safety, New York City. 

Publications of the National Council for Industrial Safety, Chicago. 




Lighthouse on the Shore of Lake Michigan. 



CHAPTER XI 

THE RELATION BETWEEN THE COMMUNITY AND THE 
CITIZEN IN BUSINESS LIFE 

A LARGE part of the activity of the people of every com- 
munity is due to their desire for wealth, and constitutes the 
Thebusi- business life of the community. It is well to 
nes^siife remember that, when we speak of wealth in 
community this connection, we do not necessarily mean 
great riches, but all m.aterial goods, however much or 
little, for which men are willing to work. In many 
people the desire for wealth is very strong, and some- 
times becomes a passion that smothers the other de- 
sires of life ; then it tends to make men narrow and selfish, 
and to interfere with their greatest usefulness in the com- 
munity. Wealth is worth having only when it contributes 
to the health, the knowledge, the beautiful surroundings 
— in a word, to the complete life of those who possess it. 
But whether the purpose be to attain completeness of life, 
or merely to satisfy greed, or perhaps to enjoy the excite- 
ment of the game of business, the business life of a com- 
munity always occupies a large part of the attention of the 
people. 

The dependence of each citizen on the community is 
nowhere seen more clearly than in his business life ; no- 
where is his responsibility to the community greater ; no- 
where is there greater opportunity for good citizenship. 

How dependent the individual is on the community for 

ss 



THE BUSINESS LIFE OF THE COMMUNITY 89 

success in satisfying his desire for wealth might be shown 
in many ways, but we shall take only one or The pioneer 
two illustrations. The pioneer family was al- family was 
most wholly dependent on its own efforts for lig^e^y^on 
the accumulation of wealth, and consequently i*^®^ 
this wealth was very limited in quantity and quality. 
The articles of home manufacture were usually few 
and rough. There were few materials to select from, 
and the many things to be done left little time for doing 
any one thing except in the simplest way possible. All 
the members of the family contributed to the common re- 
sult, and they divided the work so that each had his 
special tasks and became more skillful than the others in 
their performance. All worked together for the common 
good, and each received a share of the results of the labor 
of all. 

As this small community consisting of one family was 
increased by other famiHes, a better opportunity was given 
for a division of labor. One member of the There- 
original family, who had formerly made the division of 
shoes for his family only, on account of his skill labor 
at that work and because of the demands of the addi- 
tional families, was now enabled to devote his entire 
time to shoe making. Members of these new families were 
skillful in other crafts, one a baker, another a weaver, 
another a miller, and another a blacksmith. The needs 
of the community for bread, clothing, flour, and tools were 
now sufficient to enable the baker, the weaver, the miller, 
and the blacksmith to devote their entire time to their 
trades, thus both increasing the amount and improving the 
quality of their products. One after another the duties 
of the farmer were lessened until finally it became his 
special business to provide farm products for the whole 



90 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

community in return for the things that the others did for 
him. 

With the introduction of machinery and the building 
of factories where hundreds of men are employed, the 
Effect of division of tasks has become more complete, 
modem ^nd each worker rarely produces more than one 
organiza- thing. In well-organized factories, each work- 
tioii man devotes his entire time to producing one 

small part of each article. In a factory for the manufac- 
ture of milling machinery, for example, one set of work- 
men does nothing but chip the surface of millstones with 
hammers to make them rough. They apparently con- 
tribute very little to the general welfare; but the com- 
munity provides them with a living in order that they 
may do this one thing, and do it well. We say that they 
receive so much a day for their work. In realit}^ they 
are being suppUed with bread and meat, clothing and 
shelter, furniture and tools, medicines and doctors' serv- 
ices, education for their children, rehgious teaching on 
Sundavs, entertainment at the theaters, and scores of 
other things, in exchange for their monotonous and ap- 
parently unimportant work of putting rough surfaces on 
millstones. 

Division of occupations also takes place in accordance 
with geographical location. This is of great importance 

in a lar2:e communitv like our nation. In 
Geographi- ° - • ,u t,- -f a 

cai division some parts of the country corn is the chiel prod- 

of labor ^^^ . ^^ others cotton ; in others fruit. In some 

parts cattle or sheep raising takes the place of farming ; 

in other parts mining. The different metals are found in 

different localities. In one place lumbering is the chief 

occupation ; in another place fishing. One region becomes 

famous for its cotton manufactures; another for silk; 



THE BUSINESS LIFE OF THE COMMUNITY 91 

another for iron. The gardener who gives his whole time 
to raising vegetables to supply the market of some small 
city receives in return bread from wheat raised in the Da- 
kotas ; clothing manufactured in New England from cotton 
raised in Texas, or from wool raised in Montana. He 
uses wagons made in Indiana of timber raised in the South 
and of iron mined in Minnesota and smelted in Ohio. 



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A Market Scene. 

In these days of large business enterprises, the men who 
run the machines and perform labor of other kinds are 
not usually the men who furnish these machines Dependence 
and the other forms of capital. The men who °^ employer 

and em- 
furnish the capital and those who furnish the pioyeeon 

labor are dependent on each other. It is true ®*^^ ^^^^' 

that they often act toward each other as if their interests 

were antagonistic. Although the workingmen are far 

more numerous than their employers, the latter have 

usually had the advantage in a conflict, because their 

greater wealth enables them to sustain themselves in 

idleness for a time without suffering. In order to protect 



92 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

their own interests workingmen in many trades and indus- 
tries have organized themselves into tinions, so that by 
acting together they may secure from their employers a 
recognition of their rights. This is well, provided that 
the unions remember always that their employers and the 
community at large also have rights which must be 
regarded. "Neither can take advantage of the other with- 
out the common interest suffering. The mutual object 
of both is to produce the best possible article at the lowest 
possible price, in order to place it within reach of the 
greatest possible number of purchasers." 

Thus we see how every worker in the community is 
dependent on all the other workers. The success of each 
depends very largely on how well the whole business 
organization of the community does its work. On the 
other hand, the community depends on each individual, 
and on each class of workers, to do his or its work well. 
Each citizen, as a worker in the business life of the com- 
munity, has upon him a great responsibility. 

A man engages in business activities primarily to satisfy 
the wants of himself and his family. But he can do this 
The life of a 01^1}' by performing work that will be useful to 
community others, and that will help to satisfy their desires. 

is a life of . . , . i ■ i ■ i i i 

productive A carpenter, m order to gam a livehhood and 
work to provide his family with the comforts of life, 

must build houses for others. He may be most concerned 
about what he will receive for his work ; the community is 
most concerned about what he produces. If he does care- 
ful, skillful work, he is considered a valuable member of 
the community. If he is careless, or a poor workman, he 
is considered in that respect a poor citizen. Good citizen- 
ship shows itself in the productive work of a man more 
than in any other way. 



THE BUSINESS LIFE OF THE COMMUNITY 93 

The history of our country has been very largely a story 
of the clearing of forests, of the reclaiming of the soil 
for agriculture, of the opening of mines, and of j.^^ builder 
the growth of commerce, manufactures, and of our 
cities. It is a story of the building of railroads 
and steamboats, of telegraphs and telephones. The men 
who have done these things are as much the builders of 







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Two Views of an Engine Factory. 

Showing how the factory has been given attractive appearance. 

Notice the vine-covered buildings and smoke-stack. 

our nation as the men who made our constitutions and 
organized our governments. The men and women who are 
to-day working on the farms or in the mines, in factories 
and shops, in stores and offices, or in other Unes of business, 
are as truly doing their country a service as those who 
hold the offices of government. Both kinds of service 
are necessary, and in either case patriotic citizenship 
consists in giving to the community the best service 
possible. 

It is important that the citizen should realize that, in 
the work by which he makes a living, he has a great 
responsibility toward the other members of the community. 



94 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

The employee is responsible to his employer for the very 

best work he can do, for the employer is depending on him 

to help in producins; the best possible article 

The respon- ^ ^ '=' . i, 

sibiiity of ±or the use ot the community. The employer, 
the citizen ^^ ^^^ Other hand, is responsible for the 

in business ^ 

welfare of those who work for him. A con- 
stantly increasing number of employers are coming to 
realize that this means more than merely giving fair wages 
to the employees and are providing them with better places 
in which to work, with healthful and pleasant surroundings, 
and with arrangements for their comfort and convenience. 
In some cases employers are even aiding their workmen 
to secure pleasant and comfortable homes, knowing that 
the better their workmen are cared for by them, the more 
earnestly will they work for the success of the business. 
Everv citizen in his business life is under obhgations to 
the community as a whole. Xo man's business belongs to 
A citizen's himself alone ; it belongs also to the community, 
business is The community enters into a sort of agreement 
^!^i?® with him in res^ard to his business, to the effect 
nity's that if he will perform a certain service for the 

usiness community, the community will support him. 
If he is a merchant or a manufacturer, the community 
has a right to expect from him honest goods and full 
measure. If he is a mechanic, it has the right to expect 
from him good workmanship. If he is engaged in the 
management of a railroad, it has a right to demand safety, 
comfort, and reasonable rates. No matter what his 
occupation may be, nor how large or how small his 
business, he is sure to show the character of his citizenship 
in the character of the product of his labor. 

But the citizen in business has a greater responsibility 
than for the quality of the product of his work. Business 



THE BUSINESS LIFE OF THE COMMUNITY 95 

life, and in fact the whole life of the community, could 
not be successfully carried on if it were not for the con- 
fidence that men have in each other. Think for jhe respon- 
a moment what confusion and unhappiness there sibiiity of 

, . ^ , the citizen 

would be if it were not for this conhdence. for con- 
When we ride on the railroad, we need confidence fidence 
in the excellence of the work of those who made the loco- 
motive, of those who laid the rails and built the bridges, 
of those who run the train, and of those who arrange the 
schedule and give the signals. When we buy food, or 
clothing, or any other product of human labor, we must 
have confidence in the merchant and in the manufacturer 
before we willingly part with the money that we have 
earned by our own efforts. When we receive money for 
our work, we must have confidence in the government that 
stamps the bills with its promise to pay a certain sum. 

By far the greater part of the business dealings 
between individuals, between communities, and between 
nations, is carried on by a system of credit, which is based 
on the confidence that men feel in one another and in the 
arrangements of the business world. Men would never 
deposit their money in banks if it were not for the confi- 
dence they feel in the banks, and in the government and 
laws that are behind them. Every accident on the rail- 
roads causes men to lose confidence, not only in the man 
who was guilty of carelessness, but also in the management 
of railroads in general. When an employer finds that he 
cannot trust one of his employees, it tends to destroy con- 
fidence in all employees. Every failure on the part of an 
individual to meet his business obligations tends to destroy 
the confidence of men in one another's business integrity. 
In short, every exhibition of dishonesty or inefficiency on 
the part of a citizen in his business relations helps to 



96 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

undermine the confidence of the community, and to shake 
the foundation upon which the community rests. 

It is one of the best marks of good citizenship to per- 
form the most efficient work possible, whatever one's call- 
^ . . ins:. We call it patriotism when a man gives 
in business all that he has, even his hfe if necessary, tor the 
^® good of his country, \\4thout stopping to con- 

sider whether he will receive an equal benefit in return. 
There is no higher type of patriotism than that which 
leads a citizen to perform his best service for the com- 
munity in his daily calHng, not for what he can get for it, 
but for what he can give. 

rOR INVESTIGATION 

1. Find out what the early settlers in your community had to pay for 
the land. What is the same land worth now? What has produced 
the change in value ? 

2. Compare the extent to which a farmer's family is dependent on 
others in making a lixing. with that to which a city family is dependent. 

3. Make a list of tsvelve or fifteen different occupations in your com- 
munity. How many of these did each femily have to carry on for itself 
in the early days of your community ? 

4. What advantages can you see in a di\ision of tasks or occupa- 
tions? What disadvantages? 

5. Visit a factor}- in your community and report on the division of 
labor that you find there. 

6. Take' the list of occupations mentioned in the paragraph on geo- 
graphical division of occupations (page 90) and locate on a map of the 
United States a region characterized by each. Show hov,- geographical 
conditions determine this division of occupations. 

7. Is there a geographical division of occupations in 3-our state? 
Draw a map of your state and locate characteristic industries. 

8. yi2ke a list of the different kinds of workmen that have been 
engaged in producing the different objects in your schoolroom. What 
different parts of the United States have contributed to the equipment 
of your schoolroom ? 

9. Show how a strike of workmen against their emplo^-ers injures the 
emplovers ; the workmen themselves ; the whole community. (Use for 
illustration a strike that has occurred in your own community.) 



THE BUSINESS LIFE OF THE COMMUNITY 



97 



10. Is it true, in your community, that the most useful citizens are those 
who care more about the excellence of their work than about what they 
receive for it? Illustrate. 

11. So far as your experience goes, what boys have been most success- 
ful in business — those who make it a practice to do all they can for their 
employers, or those who have tried to do the least possible ? 

12. Who have been some of the builders of your own community by 
reason of their business life? Explain. 

13. Show how a few dishonest pupils in a school will tend to destroy 
confidence throughout the whole school. What are some of the results 
of this loss cf confidence on the life of the school? 

14. Do you know of any case in your community in which the failure of 
some individual to do his whole duty in business has shaken the confidence 
of the entire community? 

15. Are there any business establishments in your community in which 
special efforts are made to provide for the welfare and comfort of the em- 
ployees ? What is the eff"ect upon the employees ? Upon the business? 
Upon the community ? 

REFERENCES 

Forman. "Advanced Civics," chapters XLVII, XLVIII. 

Smith, Adam, "The Wealth of Nations," Book I, chapters I-III (division of 
labor) . 

Meakin, Budgett, " Model Factories and Villages." Gives an excellent account 
of what employers are doing for their employees in this country and in Europe. 

Earle, Alice Morse, " Colonial Dames and Good Wives," chapter XII, ** Fire- 
side Industries." 




The Well-kept Home of an Employee of a Mining Company in 

Michigan. 

This company is much interested in the welfare of its employees, 

and encourages them in the improvement of their homes. 



CHAPTER XII 

HOW THE GOVERNMENT .-UDS THE CITIZEN BY CON- 
TROLLING BUSINESS RELATIONS 

Security in one's material possessions has always been 
one of the most sacred rights of Americans. The Revolu- 
The sacred- tionarv War was brought on because the English 
^^^^ °i_ sfovernment persistently refused to recognize 

property t> r ^ o 

rights this right of the colonists. It took away a 

part of their property by taxation without asking their 
consent. It passed laws interfering with their commerce 
and manufactures. It quartered troops in their houses 
without their permission. It gave its officers unlimited 
power to search their houses and ships without duly pro- 
tecting the rights of innocent and law-abiding citizens. 
When independence had been won and a constitution was 
to be adopted, the people demanded a sure protection of 
this right to their property. They refused to ratify the 
Constitution until amendments guaranteeing security in 
their possessions had been promised. 

The colonists recognized the necessity of some regulation 
of their property rights and of their business relations by 
The desire government. Nowhere else do individuals come 
for self- into conflict with each other so often as in their 

government .. ,. ,^ . . ^. , .^ 

in business busmess relations. ]\Iost ot the disputes Drought 
matters before the courts for settlement are over busi- 
ness or property matters. Such matters concern the 
individual so closely that the colonists believed that 

their resiulation should be under their own control 



GOVERNMENT AND BUSINESS LIFE 99 

through their local colonial governments. The same 
idea prevailed when our Constitution was framed. Busi- 
ness matters were not placed under the authority of the 
national government, except such as concern the rela- 
tions between citizens of this country and those of foreign 
countries, or between citizens of two or more states. Each 
state has unlimited control over all business relations 
within its own borders. At the same time, it is the policy 
of our state governments to leave to each citizen as much 
individual freedom in his business activities as is consistent 
with the welfare of the community. 

When a group of men wish to organize as a corporation 
for manufacturing purposes, or to build and operate a rail- 
road, or to do an insurance business, it is almost gt^te 
always the state that gives them the authority, control over 
The state has done much to aid business by the business 
construction of roads (see chapter XIII). The relations 
state protects the interests of workingmen and working- 
women. Most of the states have laws permitting the 
incorporation of labor unions. State laws place restric- 
tions on the labor of children and limit the number of 
hours that women may work in factories. State laws also 
provide for the health of workers in factories and mines 
by requiring employers to maintain good sanitary con- 
ditions, and by a system of inspection to see that the 
requirements are carried out. In some of the more recent 
state constitutions special safeguards are thrown about the 
working classes. In the older constitutions such provisions 
are not found because, when these constitutions were 
framed, labor organizations and the factory system did not 
exist. In these older states the legislatures enact, from 
time to time, such laws as seem necessary. State laws 
also endeavor to prevent the community from being de- 



lOO THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

frauded by persons and corporations that seek to render 
dishonest or inefficient service. 

During the Revolutionary War and after it, until the 

Constitution was adopted, the thirteen states were bound 

to2:ether in a very loose Confederation merely 

The need of^ •> ^ 

a national for purposes of common defense. There were 
government £g^ jg^^yg applying to all the States alike. There 
was little uniformity among them in their methods of 
regulating the business relations of their citizens. Each 
state had its own form of money. Each was at liberty to 
levy taxes on goods brought from other states, thus 
tending to check commerce. So little uniformity was 
there, so bitter were the jealousies among the states, and 
so great did the confusion become, that the Confederation 
was about to fall to pieces, and the fruits of the Revolu- 
tion were in danger of being lost. It was this danger, 
due to the confusion in business affairs, that led to the 
calling of the convention that framed our present Constitu- 
tion. It was found necessary to have a government that 
could protect the common business interests of all the 
states alike. 

The Congress created by the Constitution was given 
the power, which the Congress of the Confederation had 
The powers not had, of laying and collecting taxes '' for the 
of Congress common defense and general welfare," but it 

in business , - . . 

matters was provided that the '' duties, imposts, and ex- 
cises shall be uniform throughout the United States " 
(Art. I, sec. 8, clause i). The states were forbidden 
to lay duties on goods coming in from other states, 
so that interstate commerce should not be interfered with. 
Congress was also given power '' to regulate commerce 
with foreign nations and among the several states, and 
with the Indian tribes" (Art. I, sec. 8, clause 3). In 



GOVERNMENT AND BUSINESS LIFE lOI 

order to maintain successful business relations in a com- 
munity it is necessary that there be a reliable and uniform 
system of money ; and since this was a matter of common 
interest to all the states, Congress was given power ** to 
coin money," and to "regulate the value thereof." Under 
these last powers Congress has established mints for the 
coining of money, has enacted laws providing for a uni- 
form currency, and has established a national banking 
system which is not merely an aid to the government in 
regulating the currency and in borrowing money, but is 
also a great convenience to the business men of the whole 
country. Congress was also given the power to fix the 
standard of weights and measures (Art. I, sec. 8, clause 5). 

Under its power to regulate foreign commerce, Con- 
gress has levied import duties sufficiently heavy to check 
the importation of foreign manufactures, and Regulation 
thus to encourage the manufacture of these of foreign 
articles at home. The question of the extent ^^^^^^'^^ 
to which imports should be taxed (the tariff question) has 
always been one of the main issues dividing the great 
political parties of the United States. At the very be- 
ginning of our national history Alexander Hamilton argued 
in favor of import duties so high as to exclude foreign 
manufactures, and thus to protect our own " infant indus- 
tries." Thomas Jefferson, who beheved that the chief 
sources of America's wealth would be agriculture and 
commerce, argued against such protective duties. He 
thought that a " free trade" policy would stimulate com- 
merce and agriculture. 

Hamilton's protective policy has prevailed during a 
large part of our history, although always opposed by one 
great party. To-day conditions are quite different from 
those of his time. We have become a great manufactur- 



102 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

ing nation. Our industries are no longer "infant," but 
are very largely in the hands of wealthy and powerful 
corporations. The opponents of the protective tariff hold 
that it tends to raise prices and thus to increase the cost 
of living. Its friends argue, on the other hand, that it 
helps to maintain high wages by protecting the American 
workman against competition with the cheaper labor of 
foreign countries. The whole question is a very difficult 
one, and it is by no means easy to devise a tariff that will 
be wholly just to every producer as well as to the con- 
sumer in all parts of our country. A new tariff was 
enacted by Congress in 191 3, materially lowering the 
duties on many important articles. It is known as the 
Underwood Tariff, taking the name of the chairman of 
the Ways and Means Committee of the House of Repre- 
sentatives, who was largely responsible for its form. 

Congress has also established a consular system to look 
after the commercial relations of this country with foreign 
nations. Consuls are appointed by our government to go 
to the important cities of all civilized countries. Among 
their many duties, they investigate the products and 
manufactures of the countries to which they are sent, try 
to create a market in those countries for products of the 
United States, and, in general, try to stimulate favorable 
business relations between our country and all the world. 

Under its power to regulate commerce among the sev- 
eral states, Congress has enacted a number of laws regu- 
lating the activities of railroads and other corporations 
whose business affects the entire nation. In 1887 an 
Interstate Commerce Act was passed to prevent cer- 
tain unjust business methods on the part of transpor- 
tation companies, such as charging rates that discriminate 
in favor of one individual or locality as against another. 



GOVERNMENT AND BUSINESS LIFE 103 

This law created an Interstate Commerce Commission 
with authority to inquire into the management of the busi- 
ness of ** common carriers," such as railroads, Regulation 
steamship lines, or express companies. A later of interstate 
law gives the Commission power also to fix the *^°™™®''*^® 
maximum rates which may be charged by such " common 
carriers." 

The history of business development in recent years 
has been marked by the growth of great business organi- 
zations known as corporations. » With the enormous capital 
at their command, and with the economies of management 
made possible by doing business on a large scale, these 
corporations have been enabled to gain control of many 

lines of business. Then, in some cases, a num- „ , ,. 

' Regulation 

ber of corporations in the same Hne of business of 
have formed combinations known as trusts corporations 
which still further control business and prices. As a 
result of abuses of this power Congress, in 1890, passed an 
"Anti-Trust Law" which made illegal any "contract, 
combination ... or conspiracy in restraint of trade " 
among the states or with foreign nations, and made any 
person liable to punishment who should, alone or in com- 
bination with others, attempt to monopolize any part of 
interstate or foreign commerce. In 1903 a National 
Bureau of Corporations was created to investigate the 
organization and management of corporations. The extent 
to which corporations and trusts should be controlled by 
government, and the means. by which it should be done, 
are among the greatest questions before our country at 
the present time. 

In 1906 a Food and Drugs Act was passed to prevent 
" the manufacture, sale, or transportation " of impure, 
falsely labeled, poisonous, or injurious "foods, drugs, 



I04 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

medicines, and liquors," and a Bureau of Chemistry was 
created in the Department of Agriculture to investigate 
such mat-ters. 

These laws illustrate how the growth of business inter- 
ests affecting the entire nation has led the government to 
provide means of national cooperation unthought of by 
the makers of our Constitution. Among these means are 
three important departments of government, the Depart- 
ment of Agriculture, the Department of Commerce, and 
the Department of Labor, the last two of which were 
established as separate departments in 191 3. 

While some of this regulation of business by the state 
and national governments imposes serious restrictions on 
The pxirpose particular business interests, its purpose is nev- 
of govern- ertheless to further the interests of the country 
to afford at large. The purpose of the government is not 
opportunity ^q hedge the citizen about with restrictions on 
his activities, but to afford to all the greatest possible 
opportunity for material prosperity. Sometimes the 
interests of the individual must yield before the interests 
of the community ; but usually, in the long run, the ad- 
vantage of the community will also be the advantage 
of the individual. Occasionally a law is unwisely or 
dishonestly enacted which benefits a small class to the 
detriment of the majority of the people. Such legislation 
is un-American, for the underlying principle of American 
government is the greatest possible good to the greatest 
possible number. 

FOR mVESTIGATION 

I. WTiich of the first ten amendments to the Constitution of the 
United States guarantee the property rights of citizens ? Explain each 
of these amendments. 



GOVERNMENT AND BUSINESS LIFE 105 

2. Get a list, or summary, of the laws passed during the last session 
of your state legislature, and note about what proportion of them are 
for the regulation of business matters. Study the list to get an idea of 
the different kinds of business matters dealt with. 

3. Is there anything in your state constitution for the protection of 
the interests of the workingmen? Anything for the regulation of 
business corporations? 

4. What laws are there in your state for the regulation of the labor 
of children ? Of women ? 

5. Is there any system of factory inspection in your state? If so, 
what is the nature and purpose of the inspection ? 

6. Mention some recent laws passed by Congress under its power 
to regulate interstate commerce. 

7. How does a bank help business men ? Are there any other banks 
besides national banks ? Explain. 

8. How does money help in the transaction of business? 

9. Investigate the organization and duties of the consular service. 

10. Report on the various activities of the Department of Agriculture ; 
of Commerce ; of Labor. 

11. Make a report on the business confusion during the time of the 
Confederation. 

12. Discuss in class, in the simplest terms possible, the meaning of 
"protection " and '' free trade." Illustrate with concrete cases. What 
is the attitude of the present administration at Washington on the 
subject? 

13. Discuss in class, in simple terms, the meaning of "corporation " 
and " trust." What is the attitude of the present adniinistration in 
regard to their control ? 

REFERENCES 

A copy of the state constitution should be on the teacher's desk for 
reference. 

It is probable that a summary of the laws passed by the last legislature 
can be obtained at the city or county offices. If not, it can be obtained 
from the office of the secretary of state of your state. It would be desir- 
able to have on the teacher's desk a copy of the revised statutes of the 
state. 

Copies of the laws regulating the labor of women and children, factory 
inspection, etc., can usually be had by applying to the bureaus or depart- 
ments of the state government dealing with such matters. The general 
treatment of these subjects, as also of the United States mint and the 
consular service, can be found in the New International Encyclopedia. 



I06 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

Fiske's "The Critical Period of American History '" lias an excellent 
chapter on the business confusion during the Confederation. (Chapter 
IV, •• Drifting toward Anarchy.") 

Hart's •• Actual Government "" will again be found useful in connection 
with this chapter : especially the chapters on •• Commercial Organiza- 
tion " (chapter XXVI) and -Foreign Commerce" (chapter XXIV), 
and the section on - Consuls." on page 436. 

Forman. •• Advanced Civics." chapters XL-XLIV. 

Beard. -American Citizenship." pp. 175-197: 231-236. 

Latest Annual Reports of the Secretaries of Agriculture. Commerce, 
and Labor. 

-Department of Commerce: Condensed History. Duties, and Prac- 
tical Operation." Government Printing Office. Washington. 1913. 

Report on Condition of Woman and Child Wage-Earners in the 
United States, vol. XIX. -Labor Laws and Factor}- Conditions." 
Prepared by the United States Commissioner of Labor. Charles P. 
Neil. Government Printing Office. Washington. 1912. 



CHAPTER XIII 

HOW THE COMMUNITY AIDS THE CITIZEN IN TRANS- 
PORTATION AND COMMUNICATION 

You will recall that in seeking a site for the community 

described in the first chapter, the exploring committee was 

to notice whether there were roads or canals near Community 

by. The very nature of a community implies ^^^® ^™Pi\®s 
J J J r commum- 

that there must be communication, for without cation 
it there could be no way of acting together. One of the 
obstacles in the way of united action among the thirteen 
American colonies was the absence of good roads connect- 
ing them. The trip from New York to Boston in those 
times required six days. A traveler tells us of spending a 
month in making the journey from New York to Washing* 
ton at a little later time. Under such conditions it is not 
strange that it was difficult to develop a spirit of union 
among the colonies. 

In the early part of the last century it cost ^125 to haul 
a ton of goods from Philadelphia to Pittsburg by wagon, 
the only means of transportation. It cost ;^2.50 q^^^^^ 
to carry a bushel of salt three hundred miles, transporta- 
Wheat could not profitably be transported by *^°^ 
wagon more than one hundred and fifty miles, because it 
could not be sold at a price to cover the cost of transporta- 
tion. When the cost of transportation was so great, the 
commonest articles of household use to-day were luxuries 
which the people could not afford. The cause of all this 
was excessively bad roads. 

107 



I08 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

The food supply of the nation comes from the farms. 
The raw materials for manufacture come from the farms, 
Importance ^^^ forest, and the mines. The comfort of living 
of country for all of US, in the city as well as in the country, 
^°^ ^ depends in a great degree on the ease with which 

these raw products can be brought from the country districts. 
It is said that ninety-five per cent of every load by train, 
steamship, or express, must be carted over a highway.. 
The country roads are the foundation of our transportation 
system. And yet they have been given comparatively Httle 
attention, and America is far behind many other civilized 
countries in the construction and preservation of roads. 

The character of the land has great importance in de- 
termining good or bad roads. In the fertile prairies of the 
Geography ^^est, although the land is almost as level as a 
and good floor, the roads often become impassable in wet 
weather. Where there are hills, the cost of 
hauling is twice as much as in a level country, because 
only half as much can be hauled in each load. The effect 
of the character of the land on roadways seems not to have 
been fully considered in America. Many of our roads run 
straight over hills, or through swamp land, which adds both 
to the difficulties of transportation and to the expense of 
keeping the roads in repair. 

The methods of road building and repairing in the 
United States have been wasteful of the people's money. 
Wasteful Not onlv has little care been exercised, fre- 
road ° ^ ° quently, in the location of the roads, but 
making their construction and repair have been left 
to the farmers in the neighborhood. In Indiana, for 
example, each township trustee levies an annual tax on the 
property of the farmers for the purpose of road improve- 
ment. This tax may be worked out by the farmers. 



TRANSPORTATION AND COMMUNICATION 109 

Every able-bodied man between the ages of twenty-one 
and fifty years, residing in a road district of a township, is 
required to perform not less than two nor more than four 
days* labor on the public roads each year or to furnish a 
substitute; or he may pay to the road overseer ^1.50 a 
day for each day that he should have worked. 

The making of a good road requires scientific knowledge 
and skill, and is work that should be supervised by a 
trained engineer. The practice of requiring the improve- 
farmers to work on the roads should be aban- ™®°* "^ , 

, t ■ 1 • 1111 methods of 

doned, and the tax, paid m money, should be road 
devoted to the employment of skilled engineers, making 
Improvement in the character of the roads has been 
secured in some cases by placing their management in the 
hands of the county government instead of leaving it 
under the control of the township. Management by the 
county helps to secure more uniformly good roads over a 
larger area, and makes it possible to secure better super- 
vision, because the road taxes of the whole county can be 
devoted to the employment of a county engineer. In those 
sections where the people have shown that they really 
want good roads, much progress has been made toward 
getting them. The first thing necessary is to arouse pub- 
He interest in the matter. That there has been so little 
interest in the past is due to ignorance of the importance 
of the roads to the entire community, and of the methods 
by which they may be secured. In the last few years the 
National Good Roads Association has done much to arouse 
public interest and to secure legislation in many states. 
The farmers are likely to object to the first cost of im- 
provements, until it is shown that the better roads enable 
them to haul larger loads and to make quicker time, thus 
saving, in a few years, more than the improvements cost. 



no THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

In the beginning of our national histon* the question of 
road making became very important in connection with 
Construe- the Settlement of the West and the presentation 
tion of early qj -'^^ Union. Roads and canals were proposed 
left to the 1^ gi'ss.t numDers. ihe question at once arose 
states whether the national or the state govern- 

ment should aid in constructing highways. The only 
clauses in the Constitution that could be interpreted as 
gi\'ing the national government authority to construct 
roads were those besto\sTng the power '' to estabUsh post 
offices and post roads," "to regulate commerce with 
foreign nations, and among the several states," and to 
make war. The national government was cautious about 
exercising powers not expHcitly given to it, and the mak- 
ing of highways was left chiefly to the states or to private 
enterprise. IMany turnpikes were built by private com- 
panies, for the use of which tolls were charged. 

The one great example of road building by the United 
States government is the National, or Cumberland, Road. 
This road was authorized by Congress in 1 806, 
National and was to extend from Cumberland, ]\Id., 
^°^^ into Ohio, to aid in the settlement of the West. 

It was extended finally as far west as Illinois. It after- 
ward passed under the control of the states through which 
it ran, and thence was given over to the management of 
tbe counties. 

The introduction of canals and of railroads caused the 

private turnpikes to become unprofitable, and the feeling 

srrew that the countn" highwavs were a matter 

State man- » . o . 

agement of for local management. i\t the present time it 
roads ^^ recognized that good countr}^ roads are a 

benefit, not only to the farmers li\-ing on them, but also 

to the people of that count}', and even to the whole state, 



TRANSPORTATION AND COMMUNICATION III 

including the towns and cities. Some of the states, mostly 
in the East, are therefore making a systematic reform in 
road making. The movement is slowly spreading west. 
In New Jersey a state highway law was passed in 1892. It 
created a state commissioner of public roads, and provided 
that when two thirds of the property owners along a road 
petition the county for improvements they shall be made. 




Old Wooden Bridge on the National Road crossing White River, 
Indianapolis. 

One tenth of the cost is paid by the property owners along 
the road, one third by the state, and the remainder by the 
people of the county in which the improvement is made. 
The expense is thus distributed over the whole state, 
although the main part is borne by the immediate com- 
munity. The work is done under the direction of a county 
engineer, but must be approved by the state commission. 
Similar systems have been adopted in other states. 

Road making, especially in an unsettled country, is dif- 
ficult, and the cost of transportation by wagon is heavy. 
In the early days of our country, therefore, River trans- 
water routes were always used when possible, portation 
The rivers were the natural highways into the West, and 



112 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

schemes were early proposed to improve them, as when 
Washington urged the improvement of the Potomac. The 
invention of the steamboat by Robert Fulton in 1806 gave 
a great impetus to water transportation, and steamboats 
were soon plying the rivers, both in the East and in the 
West, as well as the Great Lakes. The rapid development 
of railways checked the use of the rivers, although they are 
still an important factor in the transportation system of 
our country. The commerce of the Great Lakes has 
steadily increased, and is to-day of enormous proportions. 

A great deal has been done by state and national gov- 
ernments for the improvement of our rivers. The River 
and Harbor Bill, passed every two years by Congress, 
River and involves one of the heaviest items of expense 
harbor im- by the government. For the benefit of na\dga- 
provemen ^.^^ ^^ ^^^ coast the national government has 
established a coast survey, by which the safe channels and 
the dangerous points along the coast are charted for the 
guidance of seamen. 

The advantages of water communication were so great in 

the days before railroads that the construction of canals was 

strongly uro;ed bv manv. Albert Gallatin, in 
Canals t=> j ^ ^ j > 

Jefferson's administration, proposed a series 
of coast\\*ise canals from New England to South Carolina. 
There was great opposition to such improvements at na- 
tional expense ; and, as in the case of roads, it was left 
chiefly for the states and private companies to undertake 
them. The most successful of the early canals built under 
state authority was the Erie Canal, connecting Lake Erie 
with the Hudson River and thus with the Atlantic. 
Its success aroused other states to similar enterprises. 
Some of these canals were successfully constructed and 
operated, but most of them were not. 



TRANSPORTATION AND COMMUNICATION 113 

It was the coming of the railroads that caused the down- 
fall of the canal schemes. Under certain circumstances 
canals remain, nevertheless, an important means of trans- 
portation. The Erie Canal is still an important highway, 
and the state of New York is now spending ^100,000,000 to 
improve it so that large modern freight boats may navigate 
it. The United States government has built a number of 
important canals in recent times for the purpose of avoid- 
ing rapids in rivers, or to connect the Great Lakes. One 
of the largest of these is the canal at Sault Ste. Marie, be- 
tween Lake Superior on the one hand, and Lakes Huron 
and Michigan on the other. The greatest canal ever un- 
dertaken is the Panama Canal now nearing completion by 
the United States. It has been constructed under the 
greatest difficulties. Its cost will be about $400,000,000. 
It will shorten the voyage from New York to San Fran- 
cisco by 8000 miles, and will be of untold value to the entire 
world. 

Steam railways revolutionized transportation. They 

quickly displaced most of the older turnpikes and canals, 

and made travel rapid beyond the imagination 

^ r ^^ ' ^r^i Railfoads 

of the people of earlier times. They soon cov- 
ered the country with a network of tracks until, at the 
present time, the railways of the United States would en- 
circle the globe eight and a half times, without counting 
second tracks and sidetracks. The importance of the rail- 
roads in the building of our nation can hardly be over- 
estimated. It is quite possible that the territory we now 
occupy could never have been included in a single nation 
if it were not for the railroads that bind together its widely 
separated parts. San Francisco and New York are to-day 
as close together, so far as ease of communication is con- 
cerned, as New York and Boston were in Washington's 



114 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

time. Because of their great service to the country in this 
way, railroads have at various times been aided by both 
state and national governments. The national govern- 
ment gave to many states, in early times, large tracts of 
public land, the revenue from which was to be used in the 
work of constructing railroads. When the great Western 
roads were proposed, Congress gave about 100,000,000 
acres of land to aid in the enterprise. 

Railroads in this country are owned by corporations 
chartered by the state governments or, in some cases, by 
the national government. Since the service they perform 
is of such a public character their conduct is regulated to 
a large extent, as we have seen, by the Interstate Commerce 
Commission (p. 103). Many of the states also have railway 
commissions and laws to regulate the business of railroads 
within the state boundaries. There are many who believe 
that railroads should be owned by the government, as is the 
case in many European countries. 

Another most important step in binding separate com- 
munities together, and especially in bringing isolated 
^, ^ . communities into relation with lararer centers 

Electnc ^ 

interurban of life, is the recent growth of electric inter- 
^^^^ urban railways. Many little communities not 

heretofore touched by steam railways have been brought 
into the stream of life of the larger community about 
them. There was a time not long ago when the life of the 
farmer was a Hfe of isolation. He had few of the advan- 
tages of the city, and seldom came into intimate contact 
with the life of the world. All this is rapidly being 
changed by the building of electric lines through the rural 
districts, together with the establishment of free rural mail 
delivery and the extension of telephones in the country. 
By these means city, town, and rural populations are being 



TRANSPORTATION AND COMMUNICATION 



bound more closely together. The people mingle more 
freely. What affects one for good or ill more quickly affects 
all. The whole country is being united more firmly into 
a single community. 




A Portion of the Lake Front, Chicago. 

Observe the railroad yards, the piers extending into the lake, and the 

viaduct over the railroads to the piers. 

Compare this scene with that in the illustration on page 140 

The question of transportation in cities is an important 
one, and presents difficulties not found in rural commu- 
nities and small towns. First in importance is Transpor- 
the street itself. All cities have a department cities" «ie 
of government to manage the construction and street 
repairing of the streets, and employ engineers who under- 



Il6 THE COMML^NITY AXD THE CITIZEN 

Stand the principles of good street making. It is too often 
true, however, that street commissioners and other officers 
in control of the streets are appointed as a reward for 
pohtical ser\'ices rather than because of fitness for the 
work. Too often large contracts for street making are 
let, through political favoritism, to men who are more 
interested in the amount of money they can make out of 
the job than in the welfare of the community. Such con- 
tractors, and the officers of government who knowingly 
employ them, are enemies to the communitv. 

The streets are for the use of the people. No one has a 
right to block them unnecessarily to the inconvenience or 
Blocking danger of others. There are ordinances to pre- 
the streets yQ^t storekeepers and others from blocking the 
sidewalks with boxes or otherwise. These ordinances are 
often violated, making the way of the pedestrian both diffi- 
cult and dangerous, besides making the streets unsightly. 
In large cities the sidewalks and streets are necessarily 
crowded, and a sHght accident may block traffic completely 
for a time. 

It is necessary to use the streets in cities for the laying 
of sewer, water, and gas pipes, the stretching of telegraph, 
F hises telephone, and electric-hght wires, and the con- 
struction of street railways. Franchises for these 
purposes are granted, on tu'o conditions : first, definite serv- 
ices must be performed for the people ; and, second, the 
natural use of the streets by vehicles and pedestrians must 
not be interfered vrith. Here again we often find the rights 
of the people disregarded, both by the companies which ob- 
tain the franchises, and by the government officials who 
grant them. Sometimes franchises are carelessly drawn up 
and give away pri\-ileges to companies without safe-guard- 
ing the rights of the people, Sometimes the officers of 



TRANSPORTATION AND COMMUNICATION 11/ 

government dishonestly and un patriotically give- away the 
people's rights for private gain. 




Copyright, 1907, by Underwood ^^ Underwood, New York. 

Transportation in a Large City. 

Life in cities has been almost revolutionized by the devel- 
opment of rapid transportation by electric trolley cars. In 
some of the largest cities there are elevated j^ .^ 
railways, upon which trains are driven without transit in 
the delays necessary in surface transporta- "*^®^ 
tion. In New York and other cities there is also a 
system of subway transportation under the streets. 



Il8 THE CO:>IMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

The regular steam railways run trains a few minutes 
apart between the centers of all large cities and their 
suburbs. In a single year the surface,, elevated, and sub- 
way trains in the city of New York carried more than 
860,000,000 passengers; in Boston, 270,000,000; and in 
Chicago the surface and elevated roads carried nearly 
550,000,000. 

The city railways are owmed and operated by private cor- 
porations under franchises. It has been proposed that cities 
^ should acquire possession of their transportation 

Government n r r 

ownership svstems and should operate them themselves, as 
of railways -^ done in many European cities. It is argued 
that the ser\-ice could then be made just as good as the 
people want it, and the fares could be reduced greatly. 
It is said, in reply to this, that if city governments can- 
not wiselv and honestly control the giving of franchises, 
and enforce their terms, how much less likely would the 
governments be to manage the entire business wisely and 
honestly. 

In community life there must be an exchange of ideas 
as well as a means of transporting goods and people. The 
Communi- nianufacturer must know what kinds of goods 
cation of the people want and what they will be willing to 
^^^^^ pay for them. He must also know where he 

can get his materials for manufacture most advanta- 
geously. In a large country like ours the people in sections 
far removed from each other, Hke New England and Cali- 
fornia, would be likely to develop very great differences 
in manner of speech, in dress, in ways of thinking, and in 
forms of government, if they w^ere not in constant com- 
munication with each other. The exchange of ideas is kept 
up partly by means of travel. There is a constant min- 
gUng of the people of different sections. We have, besides, 



TRANSPORTATION AND COMMUNICATION 119 

our postal system, the telegraph and telephone, and the 
newspaper. When an important event happens, the news 
of it is at once flashed to every part of the land and within 
a few hours, at most, is laid at our doors in the columns 
of a newspaper. 

The Constitution gives Congress power to create post 
offices and post roads, and the post-office system has 
existed from the beginning under the complete Postal 
control of the national government. At first the system 
mails were usually carried on horseback, sometimes by 
boys, or by old men who '* whiled away the hours by knit- 
ting woolen mittens and stockings" along the way. At 
the close of the Revolution letters were sent from New 
York to Boston two or three times a week. It sometimes 
required five weeks for a letter to go a distance now passed 
over in a single afternoon. Out of this small beginning 
has developed the extensive postal system which we enjoy 
to-day. Formerly, as to-day in very small communities, 
people went to the post office for their mail ; but now in 
all cities and large towns it is delivered at their doors. 
There is also a rural free delivery, postmen driving daily 
from farmhouse to farmhouse. In 191 3 a parcel post was 
established, which means a package express service here- 
tofore performed by private express companies. 

So great is the service performed by the telegraph, the 
trans-oceanic cable, and the telephone, that it is hard to 
see how life could go on without these means of Telegraph 
almost instantaneous communication connecting and 
business offices or homes, farmer and city dweller, ^ ^^ 
distant cities, and the nations of the world. The first tele- 
graph Hne in the United States was owned and operated 
as a part of the government postal service, as is now the 
case in some countries, but the telegraph and telephone 



120 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

are now in the hands of private corporations. The Post- 
master General of the United States, in his report for 191 3, 
expresses his conviction that the Post-office Department 
should control all these means of communication and his 
belief that this will ultimately be the policy of the United 
States as of other countries. 

We must not close this chapter without reference to 
the wonderful invention of radio-comvuinication — wireless 
telegraphy — which is one more powerful means of bind- 
ing _ the whole world into one community with common 
interests. We prize it especially, perhaps, as a means of 
saving life on the sea. So much depends upon this means 
of communication that our government has passed special 
laws to prevent interference with important messages. 
Every one who operates a wireless station should conscien- 
tiously observe these laws. 

FOR INVESTIGATION 

1. Look up the difficulties of travel and transportation in our country 
in the beginning of the nineteenth centuiy, and their eflfects on the life 
of the time. 

2. Are the geographical conditions favorable to the making of good 
roads in your community? What is the condition of the country roads 
in your neighborhood during the winter? What effect do the road con- 
ditions have on the life of the farmer? On the life of the town people? 

3. Who has control over the making and repairing of the country 
roads in your community? How is the expense of keeping them in re- 
pair met? Do the farmers work out their road tax? Are experienced 
persons employed to oversee the work of construction and repair? 

4. Look up the histor}^ of road building in your state. Have there 
been any state roads ? If so, locate them on the map. Is your state 
government now taking any steps to improve the condition of the coun- 
try roads ? 

5. Make a report on the history and influence of the National Road. 
Did it have any particular influence on the settlement of your state ? 

6. Give an account of the use of rivers in your state for transporta- 
tion. To what extent are they used now? 



TRANSPORTATION AND COMMUNICATION 12 1 



7. Do you know of any river improvement going on in your state? 
By whom is it being made, state or national government? 

8. Make a report on the work of the United States Coast Survey. 

9. Make a report on the building and influence of the Erie 
Canal. 

10. Look up the history of canal building in your state. Have there 
been any successful canals operated there ? Are any of them still in 
operation ? 

1 1 . Report on the purpose and history of the Panama Canal. What 
arrangements did our government have to make with other nations in 
regard to it? Of what advantage will it be to the world? What special 
advantages will the United States derive from it? 

12. Report on the early history of railroad building in your 
state. 

13. If there are interurban electric lines in your neighborhood, re- 
port what influence they have had on the life of the farmers ; on the 
prosperity of the cities. 

14. How does your city government manage the building and re- 
pairing of the streets? If you wanted the street on which you live 
paved, how would you set about it? How would the expense be 
met? 

15. Are the ordinances respecting the blocking of sidewalks observed 
in your community ? 

16. If you have a street railway in your community, find out what 
the terms of the franchise are with reference to the use of the streets. 
Also with reference to the paving of the streets through which the 
tracks run. Are the people getting as good service from the street 
railways as they should ? If not, why ? 

17. Debate the question, " Street railroads should be owned and 
operated by the city." 

18. Report on rural free mail delivery in your neighborhood. What 
influence does it have on the improvement of the country roads ? (See 
Report of Postmaster General for 1913, pp. 32-33.) 

19. Report on the organization of a large newspaper for the gather- 
ing and distribution of information. 

20. Report on the laws regulating the use of wireless telegraph by 
amateurs. (Copies of the regulations may be obtained from the Bureau 
of Navigation, Department of Commerce, Washington.) 



122 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

REFERENCES 

The Office of Public Roads. Department of Agriculture. Washington, 
D.C., has issued a series of circulars on the public roads of the differ- 
ent states, giving the mileage of improved and unimproved roads, road 
laws, etc. 

Some of the state governments have issued reports on the public 
roads of these states ; as in Indiana, the Report of the State Geologist 
for 1905 deals with the Roads and Road Materials of Indiana. 

Henderson, "The Social Spirit of America," chapter VI, " Good Roads and 
Communication." 

Hart, "Actual Government," chapter XXVII, " Transportation." 

Bryce, "The American Commonwealth," last edition, vol. II, chapter CIII, 
" Railroads." 

McMaster, "History of the American People," I: 11-13; 40-54; 67-70; II: 
553-557; 560-563; III: 462-481. These references are good for the conditions 
of travel and communication in the early histon,^ of our countr^^ Also for the 
National Road, the Erie Canal, and the establishment of the Coast Survey. 

Earle, Ahce M., " Home Life in Colonial Days," chapter XIV, " Travel, 
Transportation, and Taverns." 

Earle, Ahce M. " Stage-Coach and Tavern Days." 

Sparks, " The Expansion of the American People," chapters XII, XX, XXI, 
XXII, XXIII, XXX. An entertaining account of the development of means of 
transportation. Chapter XXII deals with the Cumberland Road and the Erie 
Canal. 

Wilcox, "The American Cit>^" chapter II, "The Street," and chapter III, 
" The Control of PubUc Utihties." 

FairUe, "Municipal Administration," chapter XII, 291-307, "Urban Trans- 
portation." Makes a comparison between European and American systems. 

Report of the Postmaster General of the United States (1913), Government 
Printing Qfi&ce, Washington. 

" Promotion of Commerce." An outhne of the ser\ice maintained by the 
Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce and other bureaus and offices of the 
Government of the United States. Department of Commerce, Di\ision of PubUca- 
tions, Washington (1913). 

Report of the Secretan,- of Commerce (1913). Government Printing Office, 
Washington. 

Official Handbook of the Panama Canal (1913). Published by the Isthmian 
Canal Commission, Washington. 

In the National Geographic Magazine ior Februar}-, 1911, there is an article on 
" The Panama Canal," by Col. Geo. W. Goethals. In the same magazine for 
February, 1914, there is an article on " The Panama Canal," by Lt. Col. W. A. Sibert, 
one on " Battling with the Panama SUdes," by W. J. Showalter ; and one on " The 
Probable Effect of the Panama Canal on the Commercial Geography of the World," 
bv O. P. Austin. 



CHAPTER XIV 

WASTE AND SAVING 

In the accumulation of wealth, saving is as important 
as production. Waste must be avoided. There is usually 
Waste ^ good deal of waste in the household. There 

in the is waste in clothing through lack of proper care, 

ouse o through unwise purchasing of unsuitable ma- 
terials, and through extravagance in the purchase of un- 
necessary articles. There is waste in fuel, sometimes by 
overheating the houses, sometimes by improper care of the 
furnaces or stoves. One of the greatest wastes is in the 
matter of food. " Scraps " are thrown away that a skillful 
housekeeper would use. Unnecessary quantities of food 
are bought and prepared. Many a good dish is spoiled 
in the cooking. Another waste is due to ignorance of 
the nourishing values of different articles of food. The 
man who works with his hands in the open air, con- 
stantly exercising his muscles, needs a different kind of 
nourishment from the student who sits at his desk all day. 
Those who are fed on the wrong kinds of food, or on food 
improperly prepared, cannot do as good work as they 
otherwise could. Not the least important means of secur- 
ing good citizenship, as shown in effective work in the 
community, is a better management of the kitchens in the 
homes of the community. 

It is said that more than three fourths of the household 
expenditures in our country are made by the women. It 

123 



124 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

is a highly important service to the community for the girls 
who are to become the managers of the households to 
learn the lesson of saving. In the pioneer days women 
every girl learned at home the details of house are the 
management. In modern life, especially in of the 
cities, it is not always so. It is now recognized iiousehold 
that, in the attempts to improve the conditions of life in 
the slums of a city, one of the first things to do is to teach 
the people who live there how to save in their households, 
in order to get the best results from what they have. 

In recent years the school has been assuming some of 
the responsibility for the education of the girls in domestic 
science. Courses in cooking and sewing are jj^g respon- 
offered in an increasingly large number of pub- sibiiity of 
lie and private schools. Universities are 
training young women to become teachers of domestic 
science. It is being recognized, as it should be, that the 
skillful management of a household is as useful and honor- 
able a service to the community as the management of a 
business. 

The successful business man always tries to avoid waste. 
By introducing smoke consumers, or by employing skillful 
stokers, he converts the smoke of his furnaces waste in 
into steam power instead of pouring it out in business 
clouds over the community. In a well-managed sawmill 
not only is the body of the logs sawed into lumber, but the 
waste from this process is made into tool handles, chair 
rounds, and other small articles. The pieces of wood that 
are too small for manufacturing purposes may be sold in 
cities for kindling. Even the sawdust is put to various 
uses. When the refining of petroleum oil was first begun, 
there was a great deal of waste product. From this 
former waste there are now produced many valuable by- 



WASTE AND SAVING 125 

products, such as paraffin, vaseline, and dyestuffs. The 
by-products of a manufacturing process are sometimes 
more valuable than the main product. 

Another kind of wastefulness is common in the home, 
in industry, in personal and public affairs. One's kitchen 
may be so poorly arranged that many unneces- scientific 
sary steps are taken in doing the daily work ; manage- 
or, it may not be the fault of the arrangement °^^° 
but of lack of plan in doing the work. Sometimes we see 
people working with tools that are dull or poorly adapted 
to the task in hand, when a Httle thought given to the 
matter, or a little time spent in putting the tools in good 
condition, would save time and effort besides securing 
better results. A brick mason once observed that many 
unnecessary motions were made in laying bricks. By de- 
vising a new kind of scaffolding which could always be 
kept in the same position in relation to the top of the wall, 
and by other adaptations, he made it possible for a man to 
lay two or three times as many bricks as before with no 
greater effort. 

A new profession has recently developed out of such 
facts, known as ** efficiency engineering." The " efficiency 
engineer " makes a business of studying industrial plants 
or business offices or occupations with a view to determin- 
ing how to get the largest possible results with the least 
waste of time, energy, and materials. The results are se- 
cured through " scientific management." While in a large 
business or industrial undertaking it may be necessary to 
employ a specially trained efficiency engineer, the principle 
of scientific management may be employed by each of us in 
our daily work. 

Saving does not mean hoarding. He who hoards is 
really wasteful, for the money that he hoards might be in- 



126 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

vested in such a way that it would produce more wealth. 
He might buy machinery with it for manufac- 
is not turing purposes ; he might build houses with 

hoarding -^ ^^ rent; he might buy a stock of goods 
with it, and sell them at profit ; or he might lend the 
money to others who wish the use of it and receive interest. 

It is the duty of every person to save by investing the 
surplus of his earnings, so far as he is able to do so. In the 
g .^ ^ first place, he should endeavor to put it beyond 
investment a possibility that he shall ever be a burden on 
IS a uty others for his support, or for the support of his 
family, in time of sickness, old age, or lack of employment. 
In the second place, it is through the investment of sav- 
ings that productive industries are maintained, and the 
wealth of the community is increased. The man who 
saves by investment supplies the community with factories, 
machinery, railways, and other forms of capital. He also 
becomes an employer of labor. He thus contributes to 
the prosperity of the community. 

A postal savings system was estabhshed by the United 
States government in 191 1. At the end of two and one- 
Postal sav- half years there were $ 33,818,870 on deposit in 
ings banks 12,820 post offices that had been designated as 
depositories. Practically all of this large sum is made up 
of small savings that had been hidden away by wage- 
earners, many of them foreigners, who have confidence in 
the government but not in private savings banks. Many 
children make use of this method of saving. Savings 
stamps and savings cards may be bought at the post oflfice 
banks to help save amounts less than a dollar. When the 
amount reaches one dollar it may be deposited. This 
postal savings system is a benefit to the individual, by af- 
fording safety to his savings and paying interest on them, 



WASTE AND SAVING 12/ 

and also to the community, for it has drawn out from hid- 
ing places this large sum of money, which is thus placed 
in circulation for business purposes. 

Another means of saving is by insurance. A person 
may insure his property against loss by fire, storm, or bur- 
glary (see p. 74). He may also insure his family 

, r 1 ,. • . 1 1- Insurance 

or others dependent upon him agamst loss by 
reason of his death or injury. As in the case of fire in- 
surance, the premiums that he and thousands of others 
pay to a life or accident insurance company constitute a 
fund, which the company greatly increases by investment, 
and from which losses are paid to his beneficiaries (those 
who benefit by his insurance). By one form of life in- 
surance, the endowment plan, the insured person may him- 
self receive the full amount of his policy at the end of a 
ten, fifteen, or twenty year period, if he lives that long. 
In case of his death before the expiration of the period, 
his beneficiaries receive the full amount. 

Life insurance companies have a peculiarly sacred obli- 
gation, for they pledge themselves to protect widows and 
orphans against financial loss. Dishonesty or bad man- 
agement on their part is therefore especially blameworthy, 
as in the case of savings banks, where thousands of poor 
people deposit their small savings. Therefore the govern- 
ment subjects these corporations to careful investigation, 
and has enacted laws for the protection of policy holders 
against misuse of their insurance investments. 

The very abundance of the natural resources of our 
country has led us as a people to be wasteful conservation 
of them. Threatening exhaustion of some of of natural 
them has called attention to national spend- ^®^°"^*^®s 
thrift habits, and forced our government to take steps to 
''conserve " these sources of wealth. 



128 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

The rapid occupation of all available farming land led 
to the reclamation by irrigation of vast areas of supposedly 
waste land (see page 51). But even after its reclamation 
about half of it still remains idle. One reason for this is 
Reclamation ^'^^^ much of the irrigated land was taken up 
of land by "speculators,"' men who buy the land and 

hold it without farming it, expecting that it will increase 
in value through the improvement of other lands in the 
neighborhood by real settlers. While the speculators 
make large profits through the efforts of others, their land 
lies idle, and is therefore waste so far as national benefit 
is concerned. Such speculation has occurred also in 
mineral and other lands. In his annual report of 191 3, 
the Secretary of the Interior urges that the government 
take steps to prevent the acquisition of public lands except 
by settlers who will make them productive. 

When there were still available large areas of fertile 
land, it did not seem necessary to force each acre to pro- 
duce all that it was capable of producing. With the 
increasing needs of the people, it has become necessar}^ 
Conservation ^^ consenv'e the resources of the soil, which 
of the son means to make it yield all that it can at the 
same time that its power to yield in the future is not 
impaired. In the Department of Agriculture of the 
national government there is a Bureau of Soils, which 
studies the soils in all parts of the countr}^ and instructs 
farmers how to presence or increase the soil fertiht}-, and 
how to get the largest possible returns. The national 
government cooperates in such work with the state gov- 
ernments, many of which have agricultural departments 
and agricultural schools and experiment stations. 

Our forest resources have been sadly wasted by forest 
fires, by destructive methods of cutting timber, and in 



WASTE AND SAVING 1 29 

other ways. This means not only the loss of the timber, 
but also an increased danger of floods with their con- 
sequent losses ; the drying up of the sources of 
streams, thus interfering with navigation, irri- 
gation, and water power ; and the more rapid erosion of 
the soil itself. The national government maintains a 
Forest Service, whose work of forest conservation is saving 
enormous wealth to the country. Many of the state gov- 
ernments are doing similar work. The national govern- 
ment has set aside a large number of national forests (see 
page 51), not for the purpose of preserving them as they 
stand, but to make them yield as much wealth to the 
nation as possible for all time to come. 

Water is a source of great wealth, and a cause of 
much destruction. Millions of dollars' worth waste from 
of damage is caused annually by floods. The floods 
work of the government in building levees along the 
banks of rivers to prevent flood destruction has already 
been mentioned (page 85). One purpose of the national 
forests on the watersheds of the country is to reduce the 
danger from floods. In some parts of the country, as in 
New England, reservoirs are constructed to receive and 
hold flood waters to prevent their overflowing the country. 
This " impounding " of flood waters in reservoirs is not 
only to prevent them from doing harm ; it is also to force 
them to do good. The floods thus imprisoned may be let 
out gradually in dry seasons to irrigate the land, as in 
the reclaimed lands of the West, or to furnish water power. 

Niagara Falls and other sources of water power have 
been harnessed to generate electrical power by which cities 
are lighted, street cars propelled, and wheels of industry 
turned. But only a small fraction of the power available 
in this country is used at present. 



I30 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

As communities grow in size, it becomes increasingly 
difficult and costly to provide every one with an adequate 
Water con- supply of pure water. The water supply system 
servation of Philadelphia has cost about S62, 000,000 and 
requires one and a quarter miUion dollars a year for its 
operation ; but so rapidly has the city grown that the 
present system is hardly adequate in the summer months. 
New York City is expending about $176,000,000 on its 
new water supply from the Catskill Mountains. So easy 
is it for a person to supply his needs from the tap in the 
wall or the hydrant on the lawn, that he forgets that water 
is not as free as the air he breathes. It even seems absurd 
to many people to speak of "wasting water." But it is 
one of the most common forms of waste. It has been 
estimated that by installing water meters throughout 
Philadelphia, a saving of 32,600,000 gallons daily could 
be effected, enousfh to relieve the strain on the water 
system for five years, at the present rate of the city's 
growth. ]\Iuch can be done by each person to conserve 
the communitv's water supplv. A very tiny stream run- 
ning constantly may mean a large waste in 

/ ^y At 40 pounds pressure, in 24 hom's, 

.... a stream running through this size of opening would 
mean a waste of 170 gallons, 



170 

970 
3600 



through this opening a waste of 970 gallons, and 



through this opening a waste of 3600 gallons. 



the course of a day. The accompanying il- 
lustration, furnished by the Superintendent of 

Water Works of Milwaukee, Wis., will make this matter 

plain. 



WASTE AND SAVING I31 

Land, soil, forests, and water are only a few of the 
natural resources that have been wasted, and that the 
government is seeking to conserve for perma- ^0^5^^^- 
nent use. At the end of this chapter will be tion of other 
found references to interesting accounts of this ^®^°"^^®^ 
work of the government, including that of the Bureau of 
Mines in conserving our mineral resources ; that of the 
Bureau of Fisheries in conserving the life of our streams, 
lakes, and coasts; that of the Departments of the Interior 
and Agriculture in protecting bird life largely to save 
crops and trees from the ravages of insects. In some of 
this work of conservation we may all have a direct part, 
as in protecting birds and in preventing waste of water. 
And in all cases we may help to mold pubHc opinion 
against wastefulness and to cultivate habits of thrift. 

On page 71 reference was made to the enormous waste 
by fire in the United States, much of which is preventable. 

Oreranizations are growino^ up in various places 

,., . ? .? ^ ^, . Fire waste 

which, in cooperation with government authori- 
ties, are seeking to impress on the people the needlessness 
of this waste and how they can help to prevent it. This 
is a work in which children can do much to help. 

Wastefulness is often found in the management of the 
community's business by government. It is seen in many 
forms. Through a false idea of economy im- Waste in 
provements that would result in real economy government 
are not made, as when roads or streets are allowed to re- 
main unimproved, thus causing an unnecessary expense 
in transportation. For lack of funds pavements that have 
been built at great expense are allowed to go without repair 
from year to year until the whole work has to be done 
over again ; or the equipment of a fire department may 
be allowed to deteriorate, while the loss from fires in- 



132 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

creases. In Philadelphia a saving of 330,000 a year was 
effected merely by a simple improvement of methods of 
cleaning the city hall. In Chicago 3200,000 a year was 
saved in the time of city employees by a slight change in 
the method by which they received their salary checks 
and had them cashed. 

Wastefulness in government may sometimes be attributed 
to the incompetence of officials, sometimes to their dishon- 
Who is estv. It is sometimes due to too little sense of 

responsible ' ., .,. . . ^ , . ,. 

for an responsibility on their part for the wise expendi- 

economicai ture of monev that belongs to the public; for 

govern- ' ^ 

ment? '"the public "' means to them nobody in particular. 

It is most often due, however, to bad management, to 
ineffective methods. But after all, wastefulness in the 
government of the community is largely the fault of the 
citizens themselves. They are inclined to place the respon- 
sibility for unwise expenditures and other forms of waste- 
fulness upon the officers of government, unmindful of the 
fact that it is their own business that is being mismanaged. 
Each citizen owes it to himself and to the community to use 
everv means at his command to secure an economical 
administration of the affairs of his community. One way 
of doing this is by keeping thoroughly informed about 
what the government is doing and how it does it, and by 
insisting that full information be provided by government 
itself, A person is alwavs stimulated to do his best work 
when he knows that his employers are interested in it and 
understand his duties and his problems. One of the best 
reasons why every citizen should know how his govern- 
ment is organized and how it works, is for the effect that 
this knowledge may have, not upon the citizen himself, but 
upon those who are attending to the citizen's business in 
go\*ernment positions. 



WASTE AND SAVING 133 



FOR INVESTIGATION 

1. What are some of the ways in which you are wasteful? 

2. What are some ways of preventing waste in your household? 

3. Is the kitchen in your home so arranged as to secure economy of 
time and of steps? Can you suggest ways of improving it? 

4. By "scientific management" can you find a way of preparing 
your school work better and in shorter time, and thus save time for 
recreation and other activities ? 

5. Investigate some factory or business establishment to find out 
how waste is avoided. 

6. Visit a gas factory and find out what by-products of value result 
from the manufacture of gas. 

7. What other industries do you know in which there are useful by- 
products ? 

8. What are some of the ways in which men save by investment? 
Show how each of these methods of investment benefits the community. 

9. Report on the postal savings system (see references). 

10. Report on barren or swamp lands in your locality or state that 
have been or might be reclaimed. 

11. Report on forest conservation by the national government. By 
your own state government. 

12. What are the farmers in your locality doing to conserve the 
soil? 

13. Report on the conservation of bird life. How does this result 
in saving for the farmers ? How can you help the farmers in this 
matter? 

14. Report on the conservation of fish and game by the national 
government. 

15. Report instances of economies eiTected in city government by the 
use of scientific management (see references to Bureaus of Municipal 
Research). 

REFERENCES 

" The Problem of Waste," Independent, 55 : 1324. 

" A Century of Waste," Independent, 52 : 2400. 

" The Utilization of Wastes," Engineering Magazine, 26: 118. 

" Reclaiming Waste," Current Literature, 30 : 743. 

" Conserving Waste Products," World's Work, 4 : 2352. 

" The Utilization of Waste," Forum, 32 : 74. 

" The Wastes of a Great City," Scribners Magazine, 34 : 387. 

Goodrich, " The Economic Disposal of a Town's Refuse." 



134 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

" Changing Garbage Disposal from an Expense to a Revenue," Attierican City, 
9: 244-5 (September, 1913). 

" Food from Waste Products," Literary Digest, 46: 15 (January 4, 1913). 

" Power from Waste Fuel," Scientific American Supplement, 75: 267 (April 26, 

1913)- 

"Wealth from Wasted Gas," Technical World, 19: 37 (March, 1913). 

On Scientific Management see '• Readers' Guide to Periodical Litera- 
ture." A few references are : 

" Story of Emerson, High- Priest of the New Science of Efficiency," Review of 
Reviews, 48: 305-315 (September, 1913). 

" Putting ^\^oman and Her Home on a Business Basis," Review of Reviews 
(Februar}', 19 14). 

" Scientific Management in the Home," Outlook, April 13, 1912, and Sept. 14, 
1912; Current Opinion, April, 1914. 

" Efficiency Movement," Harper s Weekly, Nov. 2, 1912. 

" Work done by the Economy and Efficiency Commission at Washington," 
Syste7n, April, 1913. 

On Conservation of Natural Resources, see •• Readers" Guide." 
f" The following government publications are valuable (Government 
Printing Office, Washington, D.C.) : 

I2th Annual Report of the Reclamation Service (1913)'. 

Report of the Secretar\^ of the Interior (1913), pp. 1-24; 55-69; 70-71; 93-94. 

Report of the Director of the Bureau of Mines (1913), pp. 10-13; '^9- 

United States Bureau of Fisheries : Its Organization, Operations, and Achieve- 
ments (19 10). 

Fish-Culttural Practices in the United States Bureau of Fisheries (1910). 

" A Primer of Forestry," by Gifford Pinchot, Farmers' Bulletin issued by Depart- 
ment of Agriculture (1911), 

" Status of Forestr}- in the United States," by Treadwell Cleveland, Forestry 
Bulletin (1909). 

Report of the Secretaiy of Agriculture (1913). 

Report of the Third Assistant Postmaster General (1913), pp. 27-40, on Postal 
Savings. 

The Bureau of Municipal Research, 261 Broadway, New York City, and the 
similar Bureaus of Philadelphia, Cincinnati, and other cities, publish literature 
illustrating vividlv waste and economies in cit\- governments. 



CHAPTER XV 

HOW THE COMMUNITY AIDS THE CITIZEN TO SATISFY 
HIS DESIRE FOR KNOWLEDGE 

In 1607 the first permanent English colony was founded 
in Virginia. Sixty-four years after its founding Governor 
Berkeley reported to the king on the condition of 
Berkeley on the colony, and among other things he said, " I 
education thank God there are no free schools nor printing, 
and I hope we shall not have, these hundred years." A 
statement like this from one in authority seems strange to 
us now, when one of our chief causes of pride is our system 
of free schools and our busy printing presses. It is a good 
example of the belief of despotic rulers that much knowl- 
edge on the part of the people is dangerous. It is true 
that a despotic government cannot exist in a nation where 
the mass of the people are educated. What Governor Berke- 
ley wanted to see was a colony of loyal subjects of the king, 
contented because ignorant of their rights and powers, and 
without ambition to extend their liberties by revolting against 
the government of the king and his officers. 

Fortunately for the growth of a free and self-governing 
people. Governor Berkeley's ideas were not to prevail. 
The people of Virginia were eager enough for schools, 
The New though geographical conditions hindered their 
England development. Within a few years from the 
^^^^ founding of Virginia, another group of colonists 

founded Massachusetts. Here a law was passed providing 

135 



136 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

that in every town of fifty householders an elementary 
school was to be estabUshed, and in every town of one 
hundred householders, a grammar school. New England 
grew under a system of free schools, free discussion, and 
a free press, and because of these things, one hundred 
years after Berkeley's time became a center of rebellion 
against English oppression. 

We must look first to the family as the most important 
arrangement for the education of the citizen. If education 
were left entirely to the family, however, it would ^j^ ^ 
be inadequately and unequally provided. A iiyand 
large proportion of the citizens of America are ^^^^^^^°°- 
foreigners. They and their children would make little 
headway in acquiring the knowledge that makes them in- 
telHgent citizens if their education were left for their families 
to accompHsh. The children of wealthy families might be 
highly educated by means of books and travel, and by the 
employment of private teachers at home; while the children 
of wage earners would have to get along with very little 
education. It is not a high degree of education on the part 
of a few that makes a republic like ours great. It is rather 
a fairly generous amount of knowledge permeating all ranks 
and classes. Since the community is to be the gainer by 
it, the community must afford a means of education that 
shall be within the reach of all. 

As was stated at the beginning of this chapter, Massa- 
chusetts at an early time recognized the importance of a 
generally educated people by establishing a sys- Education a 
tern of public schools. Connecticut made a fundamen- 

. ., . . r -1^1 , . tal idea of 

Similar provision soon afterward. Other colonies our govern- 
and sections of the country were slower about ™®^^ 
providing for the general education of the people, 
but in the course of time the Massachusetts way has 



EDUCATION 137 

become characteristic of the American community. 
One of the foundation ideas of our free country is that 
there shall be the greatest possible freedom of thought and 
the most widespread information among the people. After 
the Revolutionary War, when the Ordinance of 1787 was en- 
acted by Congress for the government of the Western lands, 
it provided that " religion, morality, and knowledge being 
necessary to good government and the happiness of man- 
kind, schools and the means of education shall be forever 
encouraged." When new states were created out of this 
Western land, it was provided that each should reserve one 
section of every township for school purposes. States ad- 
mitted after 1848 were to reserve two sections of each town- 
ship. Thus began the public school system in the great 
West. In the law of 1906, providing for the admission 
of Indian Territory and Oklahoma as the state of Okla- 
homa, it was provided that the proceeds from the sale of 
all public lands should be used for school purposes. 

The public schools of the United States are one of the 
largest items of expense to the government. In 1911-12 
the states expended on their public elementary 
and high schools $482,886,793. This amounts cost of 
to about $26 a year for each child enrolled. Why education 

, - , . , , - , is justified 

should the community expend so much tor the 
education of its young people } Do they receive this edu- 
cation freely from the community for their own advantage 
alone ? Community life is never one-sided. The child is 
educated by the community not that he may get more out of 
life (although it is true that he may), but that he may be 
able to give mo7'e to the well-being of the community. Our 
nation is annually investing millions of dollars in its young 
people, expecting to get its returns in greatly increased 
efficiency in the services rendered to it by its citizens. 



138 



THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 



Training for citizenship is accomplished by the school 
chiefly in two ways : 

I. Through a course of instruction that will unfold to 
the pupil his various relations to life, and that will develop 

his powers of clear thinking and right action, 
schools ^Ve usually think of civics and history as the 

train for -(iwo subjects intended to train for citizenship, 

but every subject in the course of study should 
contribute to the same end. Language, literature, mathe- 
matics, science, manual arts, and vocational training, are 




The William Clark School, St. Louis, Mo. 
all intended to broaden the view of the individual, to de- 
velop an all-round manhood and womanhood, to cultivate 
the different desires and powers in such a way as to fit the 
individual for life in the community. 

2. The second way in which the school should train for 
citizenship is in the life of the school itself. The school 
is a community and is also a part of the larger community 
about it. It is a mistake to think that the school is merely 
a place to prepare for Hfe. It is life. School children are 
doing just what the community expects them to be doing 
during their time of life. By so doing they are contrib- 
uting to the welfare of the community as well as receiving 
a benefit from it. 



EDUCATION 139 

People learn to do things by practice. AH the principles 
of community life found in the world outside of the school 
are found also within the school. Here are xheprinci- 
grouped together a number of people with dif- p^^^ p^ 'j?™- 
fering desires and motives, but all possessing found in 
certain common interests. Here are probably *^® school 
represented several different nationalities going through 
the process of being molded into Americans by common 
instruction and by association with each other. Here are 
children from all classes in the community, all on an 
exactly equal footing before the laws of the school, and 
with exactly equal opportunities of showing their worth 
and winning advancement by their own efforts. This is 
the real idea of democracy that we are trying to realize in 
our national and local communities. If we ever realize it 
perfectly, it will be largely through the influence of the 
public schools. 

In the school is found the necessity for industry and 
productive work ; for a division of tasks and united action, 
under the direction of teachers, for the common good. 
Here is seen the necessity for organization and govern- 
ment in order that the greatest good for the greatest 
number may be secured. Here more or less responsi- 
bihty rests upon each member for the welfare of all. 
Failure or wrongdoing on the part of one not only brings 
disaster to himself, but tends to disturb the harmony and 
well-being of all. Certain phases of school life tend to de- 
velop particular quaUties of good citizenship ; in athletics 
courage, decisiveness in action, and the spirit of square 
dealing are emphasized. And so in the life of the school 
habits are formed by practice that will work good or ill by 
being perpetuated in the life of the larger community out- 
side of the school. 



140 



THE COMML'XITY AND THE CITIZEN 



In order to give pupils practice in community govern- 
ment, many schools are organized somewhat on the plan 
Pupil par- of a city or state, with corresponding officers, 
ticipationin ^^^^-^ ^^ ^ mavor, councilmen, and judges. The 

scnool - J ^ 

government '' school city" plan of pupil self-government is 
widely known. In other cases a large degree of pupil 
participation in the management of the school is secured 




The Work-shop of a Special School for Boys. 
without anv special organization like that of the school 
city. Opinions differ as to the desirability of the various 
self-government plans. It is clear, however, that no ma- 
chinery of self-government can be successful without a 
real community spirit among both pupils and teachers. 
Furthermore, it is important to remember that the school 
is not a city or a state, but a sc/ioo/ community, differing in 
manv particulars from the former. However valuable it 
may be, as a means of instruction, to adopt the form of 



EDUCATION 141 

government found in the community outside of the school, 
the really important thing is to form habits of good private 
citizenship in the school community, under the natural 
conditions found in school life. 

Education is not only a privilege ; it is a duty, because 
every citizen owes it to his community to equip himself to 
render the best citizenship possible. In most Education 
of the states there are laws which require every * *^^*y 
child to attend school until a certain age (usually fourteen, 
fifteen, or sixteen), and parents are held responsible for the 
attendance of their children. A great many pupils, how- 
ever, drop out at the end of each grade for various reasons, 
so that a large proportion of those who enter fail to com- 
plete the entire course of the elementary school. The 
United States Bureau of Education estimates that only 
about one-fourth of the children who enter the first grade 
of the elementary school reach the high school, and of 
these only about forty per cent graduate. 

What is the cause of this loss in school attendance ? It 
is due in part to the fact that backward pupils, those who 
repeatedly fail of promotion, and reach the age ^^^ ^ 
when they may legally leave school before they children 
complete the course, dislike to remain in the leave school? 
lower grades with children much younger than themselves. 
It used to be thought that many of those who left did so 
because they ** had to work " to contribute to the support 
of their families. Investigations have shown, however, 
that it is not so often a real necessity of going to work, 
as it is a failure on the part of children and their parents 
to see why remaining in school is of any great advantage 
after the child is old enough to ''get a job." 

These facts have led educators and others to study 
seriously the question whether the schools are doing all 



142 THE COMMUNITY .A^■D THE CITIZEN 

that they should for their pupils. Surely, if parents are 
required to keep their children in school until fourteen or 
Adjusting sLxteen years of age, it ought to be made plain 
schools to that it is worth while. It ought to be made so 
pupub nee s ^i^^ ^^^^ ^ -j^^y qj. g^j would be eager to 

remain until the course is completed, even if it required 
a longer time than tiiat fixed by law. Study of this 
question is leading to some important changes in school 
methods. It is leading to greater attention to the needs 
and capacities of the individual pupil. PupUs who have 
particular difficulties are given particular attention, and 
are not allowed to fall behind or drop out simply because 
others in the class have less difficult}-. In some cases 
there are special classes or special schools for pupils who 
do not get on well in the regular grades or who have 
special interests. In such schools manual or vocational 
training usually has a large place. But most important of 
all is the attempt that is being made by school authorities 
to adjust the entire course of study and the methods of 
teaching more closely to the real needs and interests of 
the pupUs, and to make it e\ident to ever}- boy and girl 
that it is to their interest to remain in school as long as 
possible. 

While the average cost of education throughout the 

U::::ed States is about S26 for each pupil enrolled, the 

cost of high schools is more than S50 for ever^- 

The respon- . -> j 

sibiiity of pupil enrolled in them. This higher education 
the high Qf ^ few bv the community- demands in return 

school pupil ' . , ' . .—. 

greater semce to the commumt}\ The com- 
munit}^ has a right to expect more from an educated man 

than from an uneducated one; more from a high school 
graduate than from one who has not attended high school. 
A hberal education is not intended to reheve a person 



EDUCATION 143 

from hard work, but to fit him for more and better work 
than he could do otherwise. 

The duty of education falls on the state, and not on the 
national government. The state, in turn, has left the 
matter largely in the hands of the local com- „, . 
munities. For this reason we find a good deal in the hands 
of variety in the organization and management ^^cai^^^ *^^ 
of schools. Usually, in rural communities, the govern- 
township or county is divided into school °^®^*^ 
districts. If the district is small, it has but one school. 
Sometimes the township, or even the county, constitutes 
a single district, and then there are probably several 
schools under a single management. In some cases 
the school business is transacted directly by the voters of 
the district, who assemble at stated times for the purpose. 
Usually it is placed in the hands of one or more com- 
mitteemen or trustees, who are elected by the people. In 
most cases all the schools of a county are united under the 
management of a board, which sometimes con- Township 
sists of the several township trustees. The ^nd county 

^ manage- 

board of trustees looks after the school build- ment 
ings, employs teachers, and often selects the text-books to 
be used. In order to secure uniformity and excellence in 
all the schools of the county there is usually a county 
superintendent, appointed by the board or elected by the 
people, whose business it is to supervise the actual work 
of the schools. 

Rural schools are often poorly organized. The terms 
are too short. Pupils of all ages and all stages of advance- 
ment are grouped together in one room, often in the same 
classes, and taught by the same teacher. This defect 
has in some places been partly overcome by consolidating 
the schools of the township in one centrally located build- 



144 



THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 



ing, where the pupils can be graded, and where several 
teachers can be employed under the supervision of a prin- 
The organ- ^ip^^- ^ single township high school is often 
secured by this method of consolidation, al- 
though the separate districts could not support 
one. The difficulty in the way of consolidation 
has been the distance the pupils have to travel 
from the remote parts of the township. This difficulty 
has been met in some states by providing means of con- 
veyance at pubhc expense. 



ization and 
manage- 
ment of 
country 
schools 




City schools 



A Rural District School. 

In cities the organization of schools can be more per- 
fectly effected. The large number of children makes it 
possible to grade them from the primary classes 
up to the high school. The compactness of the 
population makes it easier to supervise the work of all the 
schools alike and to secure unity throughout the school 
system. Better buildings, better equipment, and better 
teachers can be afforded. The schools are under the 
management of a board, the members of which are some- 
times elected by the people and sometimes appointed, and 
a superintendent, w^ho is usually elected by the board. 



EDUCATION 



145 



City school boards are usually given wide powers in 
school matters, and act more or less independently of the 
other branches of the government, in order to secure free- 
dom from political influence. 

Conditions of life in cities differ so much from condi- 
tions in the country that the state allows cities great lib- 




A Consolidated Rural School in Indiana. 

Observe the large number of children in attendance, and the wagons by which 
they are carried to and from school. 



erty in organizing and managing their school systems. 
The schools of the smaller towns and rural districts are 
usually controlled in their general methods by a g^^^^ 
central state authority. There is a state board control of 
of education, and often a state superintendent. 
The state superintendent is chosen sometimes by elec- 
tion, sometimes by appointment. In some states the 
text-books used are prescribed for the whole state by the 



146 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

state board of education. In some cases they are fur. 
nished free to the pupils at the expense of the state. 

A number of the states provide state universities for the 
higher education of their young men and women. These 
state universities afford not only a broad collegiate 

universities education that will better fit any one for life in 
the community, but they also offer special training for the 
law, for medicine, for engineering, and for other profes- 
sions. Attendance at the state universities is usually free 
to citizens of the state ; but so excellent are these institu- 
tions that they generally attract students from other states, 
who are required to pay tuition. 

While education is thus chiefly in the hands of the state, 
the national government is not wholly inactive in the mat- 
Educational ter. We have seen how it gave a start to the 
nat^ionai ^ educational work of the states by the donation 
government of tracts of land. In addition to this it has 
established a Bureau of Education, at the head of which is 
the United States Commissioner of Education. His duties 
are chiefly to collect information on educational matters, 
to publish this information in reports and bulletins, and to 
exercise an influence on educational movements through- 
out the country. The national government maintains mili- 
tary and naval schools, schools for the Indians, and schools 
for the city of Washington. 

We have given our attention to the public school system 
as the chief means of education directly controlled by 
0th government. But.it must not be supposed that 

educational this is all the community does for this purpose, 
institutions -pj-^gj-g g^j-g thousands of private schools scattered 
over the country, especially in the cities. There are paro- 
chial schools ; that is, schools managed by certain churches, 
as in the case of the Roman Catholic church. There are 



EDUCATION 



147 



many colleges which are self-supporting, or derive their 
support from private funds. There are schools for the 
deaf and dumb, and for the blind, supported by the state. 
There are thousands of libraries all over the country, many 
of which are public libraries for the free use of the citizens. 
These are a valuable ally of the public schools, and are 
sometimes managed by the school board in cities. Many 





% 





High School, Fort Wayne, Ind. 



of the states have state libraries, and at Washington 
there is the great Congressional library, a national in- 
stitution. 

In the colonial days of New England the town meeting 
was one of the greatest educational forces. Here the peo- 
ple gathered to discuss matters of common in- Freedom of 
terest. Every citizen was educated on matters speech, of 

the press, 

of public importance. This widespread infor- and of 
mation is important in a republic like ours. The assemblage 
love of meeting together to discuss public questions, or to 
hear them discussed by well-informed persons, is very 



148 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

striking in America. We have only to compare ourselves 
with some of the countries of the world, like Russia, where 
men may be sent into exile for expressing their thoughts 
too freely, where public meetings are largely forbidden, 
and where no news may be printed in the newspapers 
until it has been examined by government officials, to be 
thankful that our Constitution provides that " Congress 
shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech, 
or of the press, or the right of the people freely to assem- 
ble" (Amendment I). 

The town meeting has almost disappeared. But in its 
place manv other means for the discussion of public ques- 
tions have arisen. In this connection we again come back 
to the pubhc school house. The people are just beginning 

^ , to realize that their school buildings, which 
The school ° 

a civic have generally stood idle except during the 

center hours when school is in session, might have a 

much wider use, and afford an excellent place for neigh- 
borhood meetings. In many localities, therefore, in both 
city and rural communities, the school houses have be- 
come civic or social centers of great influence in the 
education of the people through neighborhood discussion 
of public questions. It is the town meeting idea adapted 
to modern conditions. " It is in this idea of the school as 
a social center that the whole modern evolution in educa- 
tion finds its completion. The school building becomes 
not merely a place for educating the young, it is the place 
where the whole community educates itself, adults as well 
as children." 



EDUCATION 149 

FOR INVESTIGATION 

1 . Find what you can about the school life of the child in colonial 
New England ; in colonial Virginia. 

2. Find what you can about the first schools in your own com- 
munity. How did they differ from the schools of to-day? How long 
was the school term ? Did all children attend ? Were they private 
schools, or public? Where did they get teachers? How well were the 
teachers paid? 

3. What does the family do for the education of the children that 
the school cannot do? What does the school do that the family 
cannot? 

4. What does your state constitution provide with regard to 
education ? 

5. Describe the organization of the schools in your township and 
county. 

6. If the schools in your community are graded, when and why did 
the grading take place? Show how the graded system is better than 
the ungraded system. 

7. Are the country schools consolidated in any part of your state? 
If so, how does the system work? What are some of the advantages of 
consolidating small country schools ? 

8. If you live in a city, describe in detail the organization of the 
city schools. Describe the board of education, number of members, 
term of office, powers, etc. 

9. What are the qualifications prescribed for teachers in your com- 
munity? How are the teachers selected? 

10. Describe the work of the state board of education and that of 
the state superintendent of education in your state. 

11. How are the school books selected in your state? In your 
city? Are they free to the children? What advantages and disad- 
vantages result from free school books ? 

12. What do the public schools cost your city each year ? Your 
county? Your state? 

13. Compare the school community of which you are a member with 
the community outside of the school, as suggested on page 139 of this 
chapter. 

14. How does the government of your school differ from the gov- 
ernment of the city or town in which you live? What is the reason 
for this difference? Would it be wise to make the government of the 
school more like that of the city? Give your reasons. Look up plans 
of pupil self-government and report your opinion of them (see refer- 
ences below). 



150 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

15. What are the compiilson- education laws of your state? How 
are truants looked after in your communit}* ? 

16. What reasons can you give why the high school should be 
maintained at the expense of the community, in spite of the small 
proportional attendance and the large proportional cost? 

17. Make a list of the educational agencies in your communit}- out- 
side of the public school. 

18. See the reports of your city supenntendent of schools and report 
on improvements in your school system during the past few years. 
What recommendations for future improvement does he make? 

19. Report on the present or possible use of schoolhouses in your 
community outside of school hours. 

20. What means of discussion take the place of the town meeting in 
your community? 

21. What improvements are being made in rural schools to adapt 
them to the needs of rural communities? 



REFERENCES 

Hart, ■• Actual Government." chapter XX^'III, - Education." 

Forman, •• Advanced Ci\-ics." chapter XLVI. 

Dewey, John. •• The School and Society.'" 

Henderson. C. R.. -The Social Spirit in America." chapter XII. 
*'The Social Spirit in the State School System." 

Earle. Alice M., •• Child Life in Colonial Davs.'' chapters III-VI. 

King. IrA-ing, "Social Aspects of Education " (1913). *• A book of 
sources and original discussions with annotated bibliographies.-- This 
book contains chapters on various topics mentioned in the text, and 
will be found useful because of the reproduction of discussions by au- 
thorities on the various subjects and for the bibliographies. It con- 
tains chapters on : 

" The Social Relations of Home and School " (ch. IV). 

" The School as a Center of Social Life in the Community.- " fch. V) . 

" The Social Need for Continuing the Education of the Adult " (ch. VI) . 

" Industrial and Vocational Education " (ch, IX). 

"Pupil Self-Govemment " (ch. XVI) . 

Perr}\ C. "Wider Use of the School Plant" (1910). 

Welling. Richard. " Some Facts about Pupil Self-Govemment." A 
pamphlet published by the School Citizens' Committee. 2 W^all Street 
New York City. A good summan.- in favor of self-government. 

Clapp. H. L., " Self-Govemment in Public Schools." Education. 
29 : 335-3-34 (1909)- Arguments against. 



EDUCATION 



151 



Morehouse, Frances M., " The DiscipHne of the School," chapter iv. 

For these and other topics see " Readers' Guide to Periodical Litera- 
ture." 

Reports of the City Superintendent of Schools, of the State Commis- 
sioner or Board of Education, and of the United States Commissioner 
of Education should be used. 

The U. S. Bureau of Education issues Bulletins on many phases of 
education. A list of these may be obtained by writing the Bureau. 




The McKinley High School, St. Louis, Mo. 



CHAPTER XVI 



HOW THE COMMUNITY AIDS THE CITIZEN TO SATISFY 

HIS DESIRE FOR BEAUTIFUL SURROUNDINGS 

Ix one important way the growth of communities has 
tended to destroy the beautiful surroundings of man. It 




View of a River Froxt. 
Notice the iinsightly sheds, the heaps of refuse, and the smoking factories. 

Civilization is a misfortune that much of the natural beauty 

destroys of the landscape must disappear before the ad- 
much 

beauty of vance of civilization. The forest and the flower- 
nature clothed prairie are transformed into farms and 
building sites. The hills are cut away for the resources 
that they contain. The streams are lined with ugly and 

152 



CIVIC BEAUTY 1 53 

noisy factories, and clogged with refuse. The sky is 
obscured with smoke. 

The community, acting sometimes through the govern- 
ment and sometimes in other ways, may prevent a great 
deal of unnecessary destruction of the beauty of 

. Unnecessary 

nature. The national government and some of destruction 
the states have forestry bureaus, which have of natural 

beauty 

for their purpose the preservation of the forests. 
Needless pollution of streams may be checked by state 




Boulevard on the Bank of a Stream. 
This stream is thus made a most attractive feature in the heart of a large city. 

laws, and their natural beauty in a measure preserved by 
preventing dilapidated and untidy premises along their 
banks in cities, and in some cases by converting their 
banks into parks. Sentiment may be aroused among the 
boys, in the school and otherwise, against the killing of 
birds. Much natural scenery may be preserved by the 
creation of national and state parks, as in the case of the 
Yellowstone and the Yosemite. Niagara Falls is now in 



154 



THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 



danger of being transformed from one of the great wonders 
of nature into a mere sluice for the turning of mill wheels 
unless the government can be induced by public sentiment 
to prevent it. 

If natural beauty tends to disappear before the growth 
of communities, the opportunity for art increases. Beauti- 
ful houses and imposino- business blocks make 

Community a i, • r -i -. 

life creates their appearance. Art galleries are founded. 

opportuni- Relio-ious Organizations and institutions of other 
ties for art _ ° ° , , . , , ., , 

kinds grace the community with beautiful 




A Beautiful Back Yard. 
By courtesy of the National Cash Register Co., Dayton, Ohio. 

churches and other structures. Schools cultivate the taste 
for beautiful things, and the people are taught how to 
enjoy life in ways that they could not if they lived in 
isolation. 

The place to begin beautifying the community is in the 
home. The citizen who is careless about the appearance 
of his own home is almost sure to have little in- 
terest in the appearance of the rest of the com- 
munity. A home that is unsightly takes away from the 



Beauty in 
the home 



CIVIC BEAUTY 



55 



enjoyment of all who see it. The first essential to beauty 
is neatness and orderliness. But it is possible to do more 
than merely to keep the premises clean and in order. Grass 
can be made to cover bare ground, or to take the place of 
weeds. There is almost always a spot for vines and flowers 
to grow, if it is only in window boxes. It is wonderful 
what a transformation has often taken place even among 
the crowded dwellings of the poor in the heart of cities, by 




School Gardening in St. Louis. 
the introduction of vines over the fences, a flower bed 
in the small rear yard, and boxes of growing plants at the 
windows. The practice of thus adorning the dwelling place 
is contagious, and spreads from home to home, and from 
neighborhood to neighborhood. One well-kept lawn in a 
neighborhood is followed by others, until whole squares 
and whole streets present an unbroken view of beauty. 

It is wonderful how much children can do toward mak- 
ing the community beautiful in this way. In Cleveland 



156 



THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 



there is a Home Gardening Association, working chiefly 
The through the school children, which has trans- 

children's formed home yards, school grounds, and vacant 
oppor ty j^^g ^^^^ barren and disorderly spots, in many 
cases, into beautiful flower and vegetable gardens. This 
Association early learned that " the easiest and surest way 




A School Garden. 
Picking and crating tomatoes. 

to results is through the enthusiasm of youth." In most 
phases of community life we usually think that active citi- 
zenship is for men and women ; but in the beautifying of 
the community, in which a high type of citizenship can be 
shown, the children may take an active and prominent part, 
and are doing so in many communities. 

It is appropriate that the school and the home should 
work together in this matter. The school buildings scattered 



CIVIC BEAUTY 1 57 

throughout a city, and also in the country districts, should 
be centers of pride in their neighborhoods be- Beauty in 
cause of their beauty. Happily, communities *^® school 
are beginning to realize this, and the architecture of schools 
is improving. Even if the buildings are old and ugly, their 
surroundings, in most cases, can be made beautiful and in 




A Well-kept Street. 
Notice lawns, pavements, water hydrant, mail-box, telephone poles. 

this the children can have a part. The work of the Cleve- 
land Home Gardening Association began with the improve- 
ment of a school yard in the heart of the city. 

A city is judged by the appearance of its streets perhaps 
more than in any other way, unless it is by the appearance 
of its homes. The eye passes naturally from Beauty in 
one to the other. The street is public property, t^® street 
This means that each citizen has a share in it ; he has a 
right to its use, and a right to expect that it will be kept in 



158 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

good repair and good order. He also has a share of the 
responsibility for keeping it so. There was a time in certain 
cities when each householder was required to keep the street 
directly adjacent to his property swept and in good order. 
At first this was done by the householder himself, or by 
his servant. Then a group of neighbors would unite in 
employing some one to do it for the neighborhood, or for 
the whole street. In the course of time it was found that 
the work could be done better and more economically by 
placing it all under the direction of a central authority, and 
by having a body of men give their whole time to it. The 
nsi expense was met by taxing the householders. 
bUity of the Now that the care of the streets has been shifted 
citizen from the individual householder to the govern- 

ment of the community, the householder has come to feel, 
in many cases, that he has also shifted the responsibility ; 
but the employer is responsible for the work of those 
whom he employs. 

In city communities good pavements are perhaps the 
first essential to beautiful streets. Holes and uneven 
Pavements; places are unsightly as well as unsafe. A rough 
noise pavement also adds to the noise of a city. The 

desire for the beautiful may be satisfied as much through 
the ear as through the eye. Noises are often our safe- 
guards against danger. This is the excuse for gongs on 
street cars and fire engines, bells on bicycles, and whistles 
on locomotives. But the noise in most of our large cities 
is unnecessarily great and trying. In some cities ordinances 
exist to decrease the amount of noise, as where iron pipes 
must be wrapped before they are hauled through the streets, 
where the shrill whistle of interurban cars is forbidden 
within the city limits, or where the calling by hucksters 
and newsboys is forbidden. 



CIVIC BEAUTY 



159 



In the matter of clean streets, as in so many other 
things, prevention is better than cure. Refuse is often 
swept or thrown into the streets, and paper is uttering 
strewn along them that should be disposed of in ^^^ streets 
some other way. Ordinances sometimes exist forbidding 
such unnecessary littering of the streets, but they are in 
the class of regulations commonly disregarded. In some 




A Street in St. Louis. 

cities boxes are provided on the street corners to receive 
waste paper and other matter. Care must be taken that 
such boxes shall not themselves be unsightly. 

It has been said by some observing persons that school 
children are largely responsible for the unsightly appear- 
ance of our streets from the scattering of scraps of paper. 
It may not be true that school children are any more in- 
clined to throw scraps in the streets than other people. It 
is true, though, that they have unusual temptation, as 
they come from school with an accumulation of papers that 
they no longer want. Their large numbers make possible 



i6o 



THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 



a good deal of paper scattering in a few minutes. If 
children can do a great deal toward beautifying the 
community by gardening at home and on the school 
grounds, they can also do a great deal to prevent an un- 




An Unsightly Neighborhood. 

sightly appearance by refraining from throwing papers. 
Habits formed in school go a long way in such matters. 
Boys and girls who scatter scraps of paper in the schooh 
room and halls, will do the same thing on the streets and 
in other public places. 

Among the most beautiful objects in nature are trees. 



CIVIC BEAUTY l6l 

They are also among the objects that have been most 
recklessly sacrificed by growing communities. The beauty 
Nothing adds more to the attractiveness of a octrees 
village or a city than shaded lawns and tree-arched streets. 
What is more pleasant than a country road lined with 
beautiful trees ? 

The trees of many communities are suffering from the 
ravages of insects and parasites. The government is 
doing a great deal toward discovering means to Destruction 
destroy the tree pests, and to acquaint the peo- ^^J' ™"*^' 
pie with these means. The trees also have trees 
enemies among men, to whom they would contribute 
so much in health and pleasure. In the first place, men 
clear away fine trees, sometimes necessarily, but often 
unnecessarily, to make way for so-called " improvements." 
Magnificent trees are sacrificed ift order that an ordinary- 
looking house may be built at a particular spot. Often 
a home would be improved a hundred fold in appear- 
ance, if the trees were left and the house placed farther 
back or to one side. A great deal of monotony is pro- 
duced in our streets and an opportunity for a display of 
artistic taste is lost, by building our houses too much alike, 
and all at exactly the same distance from the street, without 
regard to the nature of the lots or the disposition of the 
trees and other natural features upon them. 

In the second place we do not take sufficient care to re- 
place trees that die, or that are necessarily cut down. In 
some European cities it is required by law that every tree 
that dies or is removed, unless removed to prevent crowding, 
must be replaced by another. Trees are of comparatively 
slow growth, and this may be one reason why householders 
hesitate to plant them, fearing that they may never get 
the benefit of them. This shows a lack of community 



1 62 



THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 




spirit. Arbor Day affords an opportunity for children to 
do something in this connection. The systematic planting 
of trees on this day not only helps to beautify the com- 
munity- at once, but is a splendid lesson in citizenship. 

One of the worst kinds of tree mutilation is that which 
makes way for telegraph or telephone poles and wires. 

This is an evil that ex- 
ists both in the country 
a:::i ::: the cizv. ^lany 
a beautiiul street or road 
has been made unsightly 
by such mutilation of 
trees. This is a matter 
for the communit}^ gov- 
ernment to control ; but 
the government will not 

T^ MUTILATION ON A COUNTRY RO.^. ^^^^jj^, ^^^ ^^^ ^^^ ^.^, 

zens show an interest in the presen'ation of the trees. 

Telegraph, telephone, and trolley poles are in themselves 
unsigbtlv. In the business portions of cities the network 
Poles of wires is dangerous in time of fire, and this 

and wires j^g^g ]g J ^q their removal in many cities. This 
has been accomphshed by placing the wires underground. 
Civic beauty has strong claims to the removal of such un- 
sigbtlv objects from the streets. Public sentiment is slowly 
being awakened in regard to this matter, and the time 
is coming when the \-iew of a beautiful street will not be 
obstructed by Hnes of ugly poles and a network of wires. 

Another means of disfiguring our streets is by a reck- 
less use of advertising. Men have a right to attract at- 
tention to their wares ; but thought should be 

Advertise- ' . , 

ments and given to the means, tne time, and the piace or 
biUboards ^oing SO. We allow beautiful features of our com- 



CIVIC BEAUTY 



163 



munities to be marred, and ugly features made more ugly, by 
permitting citizens to exercise perfect freedom in advertising 
for private gain. Unattractive signs are nailed to beauti- 
ful trees, which should not be marred by any kind of sign. 
Ugly telephone poles are made still uglier by the same 
means. Attractive residence streets are made unattractive 




W^'' 



mww^ 






m-^ 



A View in a City Park. 

by huge billboards with inartistic signs upon them. Even 
the signs on business blocks, where they have a right to 
be, are often inartistic and wholly out of harmony with 
the architecture of the street. 

All cities have their systems of parks and boulevards, 
though they are developed more fully in some cities than 
in others. Boston has 15,000 acres devoted to Parks and 
parks, which are connected with each other by boulevards 
boulevards, and include a stretch of ocean beach. Some 



i64 



THE COMMUNITY -\XD THE CITIZEN 



cities have preserved in their midst a bit of natural scenery 
to refresh the eye. In some of the larger cities spaces are be- 
ing cleared of tumble-do\Yn buildings in the crowded portions 
to make way for small parks with grass and trees, flowers 
and fountains, which may bring a little pleasure into the lives 
of those who seldom enjoy the fresh air of the country. 




An Uximpro'^ild Corner. 
The same comer is sho\\-n improved in the next iUustration. 
By courtesy of the National Cash Register Co., Dayton, Ohio. 

Such is the little park at ^Mulberry Bend, in Xew York, 
which was once the center of the most \'icious part of the 
slums. Parks and boulevards are under the care of boards of 
park commissioners, who sometimes also have care over the 
trees of all the streets. Sometimes the trees are placed 
under the charge of special tree commissioners or foresters. 
Smoke is another of the accompaniments of growing 
Prevention Communities. Smoke, like the network of wires 
of smoke jj^ ^]^g Streets, has been assumed to be a neces- 
sary sign of material prosperity. As the wires are dis- 



CIVIC BEAUTY 



165 



appearing beneath the surface of the streets, it is also 
being found that clouds of black smoke are not necessary 
to industry. A few large cities have earnestly determined 
to be free from the smoke, ordinances have been passed 
and enforced against it, and the beauty of the com- 
munities has been greatly increased as a result. 




A Corner Improved. 

The same as in the preceding illustration. 
By courtesy of the National Cash Register Co., Dayton, Ohio. 

Ugly features of community life have been mentioned 
only to emphasize the fact that our communities are doing 
more to-day than ever before to get rid of them. _ . 
There is a steady improvement in the character for beauty 
of the architecture in our cities. The people of ^^ growing 

^ '^ stronger in 

small means are living, not only in more com- our com- 
fortable homes, but in more beautiful ones. ™^^**^®^ 
Their taste for beauty and refinement is steadily growing. 
The streets are constantly becoming more pleasant to look 
upon. Art museums are being established in increasing 



1 66 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

numbers. Civic Improvement Associations and similar or- 
ganizations exist in almost every city and town. Cities 
themselves are more thoughtfully planning their growth 
by reserving lands for parks and parkways, by laying out 
boulevards, by grouping public buildings, by regulating the 
height of buildings, and by preventing the growth of slums. 
But thete is still much to be accomplished in this direction, 
and its accomplishment depends on the citizens of the 
present and the future. 

The improvement in the surroundings of the people is 
bound to produce a better citizenship, ^len and women 
Beautiful ^°^^ ^^^^^ spirits, become depressed, when their 
surround- surroundings are unpleasant. They lose hope 
Sfce^better ^^^ ambition. Much of the vice and crime of 
citizen- large cities is no doubt induced by this cause. 

^ One of the first steps toward transforming men 

and women into good citizens, who will contribute to the 
welfare of the community, is to give them pleasant 
surroundinsfs. 

o 

FOR INVESTIGATION 

1 . Has any natural scenery been destroyed by the growth of your 
community? Was it altogether necessary? 

2. Is anything being done in your community to prevent unneces- 
sary destruction of natural beauty? 

3. What relation has the killing of birds to civic beauty? 

4. Report on the use of Niagara Falls as a power for industrial pur- 
poses. What is being done to preserve this natural wonder? Do you 
think that the usefulness of the Falls in industry justifies the destruction 
of their beauty ? 

5. Is your community notable for its beautiful homes? In what 
sections of the community is the greatest care taken in this respect ? 
Why is it? 

6. Observe the premises of the homes in your neighborhood, begin- 
ning with your own. with reference to the care of the lawn : growth of 
weeds ; the accumulation of rubbish ; the neatness of the back yards ; 



CIVIC BEAUTY 167 

the growth of flowers; the care of the streets and alleys adjoining. 
Make a report of conditions, and suggest improvements. 

7. Let each pupil report a plan to improve the appearance of his 
own yard. Begin a systematic movement to put these plans into effect. 

8. Is your school as beautiful as it could be in the appearance of the 
yard? In the care of the halls and rooms? -Could you do anything to 
improve it? Do the people in the neighborhood take pride in the 
school building and grounds ? If not, how could they be made to do so ? 

9. Are the streets in your community beautiful? If not, what are 
their defects? If they are, what consdtutes their beauty? 

10. Report on the character of the pavements with reference to their 
appearance. 

11. What noises in your community are unnecessary? How could 
they be lessened? 

12. What is done in your community to keep the streets clean? 
What ordinances exist on this matter? Are they observed and en- 
forced ? 

13. Observe the trees in your neighborhood, in streets and lawns, 
and report on their general condition and appearance. Is care taken 
to preserve beautiful trees? Is anything being done in a systematic 
way in tree planting? Are the trees being mutilated or destroyed by 
linemen or otherwise? Is any attempt being made to create a senti- 
ment in favor of the trees? Does the city government provide any one 
to care for the trees in the streets? 

14. Make a report on street advertisements in your neighborhood. 
Observe w4iether the appearance of the streets, or of private property, 
is marred by such adverdsements. 

15. Report on the parks and boulevards of your community. De- 
scribe their points of beauty. Are they used by the people freely? 
How are they managed? 

16. What societies exist in your community to improve its appear- 
ance? How do they work? 

17. Is your community active at the present time in beautifying the 
streets and public places by the erection of statuary, monuments, foun- 
tains, and in other ways? 

18. Is the architecture of your community improving in character? 
Observe residences, business blocks, churches, schools, and public 
buildings. 

19. Select one of the most beautiful buildings in your community 
and give a detailed description of it. 

20. Is anything being done in your community to cultivate a taste 
for beautiful surroundings among those who live in the tenements, or 
in the poorer quarters of the city ? 



l68 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

2 1 . Make a report on city planning. If any plan exists for your city, 
describe it with the help of maps and diagrams. 

22. Write an essay on the relation between civic beauty and good 
citizenship. 

REFERENCES 

Robinson. -The Improvement of Towns and Cities." 

Robinson, •• Modern City Art." 

Eggleston, N. H., "Home and Its Surraundings." 

Henderson, " The Social Spirit in America,'' chapter XIV, '-Social- 
ized Beauty and Recreation." 

The magazine literature on the subject of civic beauty is abundant. 
See the - Readers" Guide to Periodical Literature." 

The American City contains in every issue valuable material on the 
subject of this chapter. 

Unwin. Ravmond : -Town Planning in Practice." A standard 
work, illustrated, but rather high priced ($600. Scribners). 

Proceedings of Conferences on City Planning. Address Flavel 
Shurtleff, Secy., Boston. 

Greene, M. Louise. " Among School Gardens." Charities Pubhcation 
Committee. New York. 

McFarland, J. Horace. -Furnishing the Streets in Suburban Com- 
munities," in Suburban Life, February, 1 9 1 1 . 

Publications of the American Civic Association. Washington, D.C 
Include pamphlets on city planning, parks, billboards smoke nuisance, 
etc. 



CHAPTER XVII 

HOW THE COMMUNITY AIDS THE CITIZEN TO SATISFY 
HIS RELIGIOUS DESIRE 

The community described in the first chapter grew around 
the college and the church, which occupied the most 
important place in the minds and hearts of the settlers. 
Every one of those first families was deeply religious. 
The simple social Ufe of the early days centered chiefly in 
the church. The only government of the village, for a 
brief period, was the government of the church organiza- 
tion. These people were of Puritan descent and principles, 
and they remind us of the colonists of New P^ngland. 

The love of religion has played a very important part 
in the history of the world. Perhaps no other motive has 
driven men to action more powerfully than this. Religion 
In the history of our land this is shown. The ^^^ been a 

1 • r 1 ^ r ^^ • pOWefful 

desire for the spread of rehgion was not the motive in 
least of the motives that brought Columbus to history 
America. The Spaniards made their conquests in the 
name of religion, and they estabhshed missions wherever 
they went. The priests led the way in the French explora- 
tion and settlement of America. The Pilgrims came to 
Plymouth to find freedom of reHgious worship, and all 
through the history of the various colonies religious ques- 
tions had an important influence. 

When the English colonies in America were founded, 
England, like most other countries of the world, had a 
state religion and a state church. That is, the government 

169 



lyo THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

prescribed what form of religion thie people must observe. 
The Puritans came to America because they could not 
conform to these requirements, and desired liberty to wor- 
ship as they beheved to be right. We might think that, 
since they desired religious liberty for them- 
mtofer°i^ce selves, when they came to America they should 
in colonial ^ave granted equal liberty to others who came to 

times , . , r^ 1 1 T-i 

their settlements. Such was not the case. 1 he 
Puritans were intolerant of all who differed from them in re- 
ligious matters. They hated the rehgious ceremonies of the 
Roman CathoHc church. They drove the Quakers away 
from their settlements, and even put some of them to death. 
Roger WiUiams was driven out from Massachusetts partly 
because of his religious views. The Roman Catholics, the 
Quakers, and the Episcopalians were about as intolerant 
of the Puritans and of each other as the Puritans were of 
them. It was considered a remarkable thing when Mary- 
land was founded by Roman Catholics and Protestants 
together, and that they lived side by side in harmony. 

In most of the colonies there was a very close relation 
between the church and the government, as there was in 
The relation England, although it was not always the Church 
between the ^^ En2:land that was recognized in the colonies. 

church and ° ^ _ 

the govern- In some colonies no one could enjoy full politi- 
^!^^"^ cal riofhts, such as the rio-ht to vote and to hold 

colonial & ' o 

times office, except members of the church officially 

recognized in the colony. In Xew England the ministers 
were usually the most influential men in the affairs of gov- 
ernment. Many of the laws were taken directly from the 
Bible, and men were tried in the courts and punished for 
violation of commonly accepted religious beliefs, as for 
breaking the Sabbath or swearing. Thus in various ways 
the government controlled the religious life of the people. 



GOVERNMENT AND RELIGION 



i;i 



After the Revolution the connection between the church 
and the government gradually became less' complete. Re- 
strictions on the right to vote because of relisrious ^ 

° ° Separation 

beliefs rapidly disappeared. With the growth of between 
democratic ideas, according to which one man ^^^R^ 
has as much right to his opinions as another; govern- 
with the increasing immigration of people of °^®^* 
different nationality and religious beUef ; and with the de- 
velopment of means of communication by which people of 
different sections were brought into contact with one an- 
other, men became more tolerant of each other's beliefs and 
forms of worship. It came to be recognized that a man's 
religious opinions were a matter for his own individual con- 
science, not to be dictated or controlled by government. 

Accordingly, when the Constitution of the United States 
was adopted, an amendment was added declaring that 
'' Congress shall make no law respecting an estabhshment 
of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof " (Amend- 
ment I). The federal Constitution does not, however, 
prohibit the states from exercising control over matters 
of religion. Some of the states continued, for a time, to 
require religious qualifications for voting. Some re- 
fused to accept testimony in the courts from persons who 
denied the existence of God. In a few cases churches 
have received aid from the state. Nevertheless, most 
state constitutions now prohibit governmental support of 
churches, although it is customary for state governments 
to exempt from taxation the property of churches. 

The Ordinance of 1787, in providing for the first gov- 
ernment of the Northwest Territory, said, *' Religion, mo- 
rality, and education being necessary to good government 
and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means 
of education shall forever be encouraged." Religion and 



1^2 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

education are here coupled together and recognized as 
The attitude two of the greatest influences in the progress 
of our Qf a^ nation. A man's beliefs have much to 

government . , , . tt- i • 

toward do With his conduct. His rehgion consists of 

reUgion ^^g attitude, not only toward God, but also 
toward his fellow-men. It teaches him to love his neigh- 
bor as himself, and to do unto others as he would be done 
by. If all men did these things, we should have better 
communities and better citizenship. But so far as our 
government is concerned, its attitude toward the religious 
life of the citizen is merely to allow the greatest possible 
personal liberty in the matter, and to offer the fullest op- 
portunity for rehgious influences to develop the qualities of 
good citizenship. 

FOR INVESTIGATION 

1. Make a list of some of the great historical events in the world 
that were due to religious causes. 

2. Let indiddual pupils make reports on the following topics: 

a. The rehgious life of the Puritans in New England. 

b. The story of the Quakers in Pennsylvania. 

c. The story of Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson. 

d. Religious toleration in Maryland. 

e. The relation between the church and the government in colonial 
Massachusetts. 

3. Report on the religious life of your community in early days. 

4. What different religious sects or denominations ai'e represented 
in your community to-day? What other religious organizations are 
there besides the churches? What do they do for the community? 

5 . Are there any schools, hospitals, or other institutions in your com- 
munity supported by rehgious organizations? 

6. What does the constitution of your state say about religion ? 

7. What pro\-ision is there about teaching rehgion in the public 
schools? Why is this? 

REFERENCES 

Howe. Daniel Waite. '• The Puritan RepubHc." 
Hart, '-Actual Government/" chapter XXIX. 



CHAPTER XVIII 

WHAT THE COMMUNITY DOES FOR THOSE WHO CANNOT 
OR WILL NOT CONTRIBUTE TO ITS PROGRESS 

There are three classes of persons who contribute noth- 
ing to the advancement of the community. The first class 
consists of those who are physically or mentally unable to 
do so, a class known as defectives. The sec- Defectives, 
ond class consists of those who, though physi- and^deiin?' 
cally able to do something, are, nevertheless, not quents 
self-supporting, and depend on the community to support 
them. These are called dependents. The third class con- 
sists of those who live in positive violation of the law 
of the community. These are criminals. These three 
classes of people have to be taken account of in every com- 
munity, and if they cannot be made to contribute to the 
common welfare, they must at least be prevented from 
doing harm. 

There was a time in the development of mankind when 
the physically defective — the bUnd, the crippled, the hope- 
lessly ill, and the aged — were such a serious burden to 
the community that it was considered necessary Treatment 
to put them to death. This was a time when J^eslbythe' 
the very existence of the community depended uncivilized 
on the physical strength of its members. If a man was 
not a fighter and a food getter, he endangered the exist- 
ence of his fellows. He had to be fed from the hard- 
earned stores of the others, and had to be defended 
against enemies. Many savage tribes put to death the 

173 



174 



THE COM-MUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 



hopelessly sick, the aged, and the crippled. The an- 
cient Spartans exposed sickly children to die upon the 
mountains. 

As men have become civihzed, as sympathy for others 
has become stronger, and as it has become easier to sustain 
hfe, the weak and the helpless have been taken under the 
It is the care of the strong, and it is now considered the 
duty of the (^^j^y Qf |-}^g communitv to provide for those who 

communii^ ' . ,, , . ' - , ' ^ 

to care for are phvsically unable to care for themselves. In 
the helpless niany cases the defective may be benefited to 
such an extent that he may become self-supporting, and 
able even to contribute something to the welfare of the 
communitv. The bUnd and the deaf and dumb may be 
educated by special methods so that they may engage in 
various occupations for their own support and happiness. 
The government has established schools and asylums for 
these unfortunate classes. The government also main- 
tains hospitals for the insane, where they are not only 
prevented from doing harm to others, but where they are 
also made happier, and often cured and restored to use- 
fukiess. There are institutions for the helplessly crip- 
pled and the hopelessly ill, where their suffering may at 
least be alleviated. There are also institutions for the 
homeless aged, and for orphaned children. 

The work of caring for this class of citizens is in the 
hands of the state, not of the national government. Local 
It is a care Communities, and especially cities, often do much 
of the state f^j- ^|^g ^^^^ of []^^\^ defective members. But 
the work is so costly that it is chiefly concentrated in 
the hands of the state government, which maintains in- 
stitutions for the purpose in a few favorable localities, to 
which the sufferers are brought from all parts of the state. 

The dependent class of people, as distinguished from the 



CHARITY AND CRIME 175 

defective class, consists of those who through poverty 
are a burden on the community. Poverty may 

. , . , .1. . 1 r , Poverty 

be due to physical mabihty to provide for one s 
self. If this is the case, there are the institutions already 
mentioned to care for such dependents. But the poverty 
may be due, in some cases, merely to bad management 
and a lack of foresight. It may often be due to drunken- 
ness on the part of one or both of the parents, or to lazy 
and shiftless habits, or to a desire to live at the expense of 
others rather than by honest effort. 

The care of the poor was at one time almost wholly in 
the hands of the church, and the church still does a great 
deal to this end. In the reign of Queen Eliza- 

^ ^ 7 T- T , 1. Poor relief 

beth a law was passed by the English parha- 

ment requiring each parish to care for its own poor. 
Since then the government has done much to relieve 
poverty, and poor laws were enacted in America modeled 
after those of England. Poor relief is considered a matter 
for the local community to regulate. 

Poverty has always appealed to the sympathies of 
people, and voluntary efforts on the part of individuals 
and societies to relieve it have long been com- ^^^ danger 
mon. Until recently this relief has been offered inunorgan- 
in an altogether disorganized way, each giver "® c any 
•giving as he saw fit, without knowledge of the real needs 
of the applicant for relief, or of what other persons 
and societies were doing. This kind of charity has some- 
times done more harm than good. It may, indeed, often re- 
lieve thesuffering of the really needy ; but it has justasoften 
encouraged the unworthy to expect charity, and has tended 
to increase the dependent class instead of diminishing it. 
There are many people v/ho will make no effort to support 
themselves so long as they feel that others will support 



i;6 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

them. Many professional beggars make a good living by 
taking advantage of the sympathies of random givers. 
During a certain period of great suffering among the very 
poor of American cities, due to unusually hard times, free 
eating houses were established in the hope of rehevin^ the 
situation. The free food attracted hundreds away from 
the work they had, and greatly increased the army of the 
unemployed. Thoughtless or unwise giving may make 
paupers of many who would otherwise be self-supporting. 

In nearly all of our large cities at the present time, and 
in many of the smaller ones, the rehef of the poor is be- 
Charity coming more systematic. Charity bureaus, or 

organization societies, have been created, which seek to secure 
cooperation among all the charitable organizations of the 
community. They investigate the worthiness of applicants 
for rehef. They expose impostors, of whom there are a 
great many. They seek to remove the causes of poverty 
rather than merely to relieve the needs of the poor for the 
time being. They find employment for those who need it 
and are able to take it. They wage war against the evils 
of tenement life. They encourage the unfortunate by 
giving them better opportunities and by creating in them 
new ideals of life. 

It is of course necessary and desirable to relieve actital 
suffering by gifts of food, clothing, and other necessities. 
It is much more important to provide an opportunity, and 
to create a desire, for self-support by productive work. It 
is better for the unfortunate individual, for it gives him 
greater self-respect, and makes him more independent ; 
and it is better for the community, because it transforms 
those who have been a burden to others into producers 
and contributors to the general welfare. 

The third class of persons who contribute no good to 



CHARITY AND CRIME 177 

the community is the criminal class. This may be said to 
include all offenders against the law and order Crime 
of the community, the enemies to the rights of other 
people. 

The method of dealing with criminals has changed very 
greatly in the progress of civiHzation. Formerly the main 
idea was punishment, or retaliation. It was Treatment 
•'an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a Hfe ^ear^'""^^ 
for a Hfe." Well into the last century, even times 
in our own country, the penalties inflicted were often 
terrible. Offenders were imprisoned in dark and filthy 
underground cells. Tongues were pierced, ears cut off, 
and marks branded upon the body with hot irons. Pris- 
oners were placed in stocks and held up to the ridicule 
and abuse of passers-by. 

At the present time our ideas of the treatment of crimi- 
nals are very different. The criminal is still an offender 
against the community, and he is still believed xhe 

to deserve punishment of some kind. Much protection 

, 1 .1 ^ , ofthe 

more miportant than the punishment of the community 

criminal, however, is the protection of the com- ^^^t^^ 

^ . , reformation 

munity against any future crimes. Two ideas of the 

are uppermost in our present methods of deal- ^^^^^^^ 
ing with criminals. The first is to place them, temporarily 
at least, where they cannot harm the community. The 
second is to reform them — or to cure them, for crime is 
now considered as a result of a mental and moral, if not 
physical, disease. Except in the case of the very worst 
crimes, which may be punishable by death or life impris- 
onment, the effort is usually made to return the offender 
to the community, in the course of time, as a useful citizen. 
Cruel and inhuman punishments have been abandoned. 
The death penalty has been abolished, even for murder, 



1 78 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

in some states. It is now quite common to imprison 
offenders with an indeterminate sentence ; that is, they are 
sent to prison for a period the length of which will depend 
on the conduct of the prisoner himself and on the inclina- 
tion he shows to live right in the community. Prisoners 
are comfortably housed and clothed, and are given whole- 
some food and, if necessary, medical attention. Where 
the prisoners are illiterate, they are often given instruction 
in the common branches of education. They are made to 
work, not so much with the idea of punishment as to teach 
them habits of industry and to instruct them in some man- 
ner of making an honest living. 

Greater care than formerly is now taken to prevent 
crime, in preference to punishing the criminal after the 

^, crime is committed. Youthful offenders are 

The 

prevention sent to reform schools, rather than to prisons 
ot crime designed for more hardened criminals. It was 
once the custom to imprison young offenders, guilty 
of some minor offense, together with older and har- 
dened criminals guilty of serious crimes. The result of 
this was to harden the younger ones by association with 
the others. In a few cities juvenile courts have been 
estabhshed, where only young offenders are tried. Those 
who have just begun their criminal career are often not 
punished at all, but are placed on probation ; that is, they 
are given their liberty, but under the eyes of probation 
officers, or "official parents," who look after them and aid 
them to get a start in life. Many, who would by punish- 
ment be hardened, are thus led to become good citizens. 

The regulation of crime and the correction of criminals 
are almost wholly under the control of the state govern- 
ments. What is considered a crime in one state 
is not always a crime in another state; that is, while the 



CHARITY AND CRIME 1 79 

act may be just as harmful to the community in one state 

as in another, some states may have no law on Regulation 

the subject. Unless an act is in violation of of crime by 

the law, it is not legally a crime and cannot ^ ®s*^*® 

be punished as such. The same crime may be punishable 

in different ways in different states, because the kind of 

punishment is determined by state law. It would be well 

if the states could agree more closely in regard to what 

constitutes crime, and how it should be treated. 

The national government has jurisdiction over some 

kinds of crimes. Since the entire government of the 

territories and of the District of Columbia is in _ , . 

Regulation 
the hands of Congress, this body defines crmie of crime by 

in these places and fixes its penalties. Crimes the national 

^ '■ government 

against national law, wherever they are com- 
mitted, are punishable by the national government. The 
accused person is tried before a federal court in the 
state where the crime is committed. For instance, 
violation of the postal laws, counterfeiting money, or 
evading the laws for the regulation of interstate commerce 
are crimes punishable by the national government. The 
national government also has jurisdiction over crimes 
against the laws of nations, as contained in treaties, and 
over piracy. One crime against the nation is punishable 
by death, — treason, the worse crime recognized by civilized 
nations. The Constitution defines treason against the 
United States as " levying war against them, or in adhering 
to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort" (Art. Ill, 
sec. 3). In order to convict a person of treason there 
must be two witnesses of the treasonable act to give 
evidence against him. 

In order that no injustice may be done to innocent 
persons, the rights of accused persons are protected care- 



l8o THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

fully by the Constitution of the United States. It is a 
The pro- principle of law that every accused person is 
the lights of ^ssumed to be innocent until he is proved to be 
the accused guilty. Every precaution is taken to secure for 
him a fair trial. He is entitled to a trial by a jury of his 
fellow-citizens in the locaUty where the crime occurred. 
The accusing witnesses must give their evidence to the 
court in the presence of the accused and he is entitled 
to witnesses in his favor, as well as lawyers to defend 
him. He may not be compelled to testify against himself. 
These are a few of the careful provisions made to protect 
even a guilty citizen against injustice. 

FOR mVESTIGATION 

1. What public institutions are there in your community for the 
care of defective persons? Are tiiere any private institutions of a 
si.nilar kind? 

2. Make a list of all the institutions and associations that you know 
of in your community for the care of the poor. 

3. Is there charity organization in your community? Find out its 
methods of work. 

4. What does your local government do for the relief of the 
poor? 

5. Report on the treatment of criminals in colonial times. (See 
McMaster. •■ Histon,- of the American People." vol. I, pp. 93-102.) 

6. What reform schools are there in your state? How are the in- 
mates of these schools dealt with ? 

7. Is there a juvenile court in your community? If so, report on its 
work, and describe the work of the probation officers. 

8. Debate the question. •• Capital punishment should be abolished.'" 

REFERENCES 

Henderson. •'•' The Social Spirit in America." chapter XV. 

Henderson. •• Dependents. Defectives, and Dehnquents." 

Warner. •• American Charities.*' 

Wines, '• Punishment and Reformation."' 

Morrison, •• Juvenile OtTenders." 

Forman. '• Advanced Civics." chapters XLIX. L. 

Goodnow, *• City Government in the United States," chapter X. 



CHAPTER XIX 

HOW THE CITIZENS OF A COMMUNITY GOVERN 
THEMSELVES 

We have now looked at the life of the community from 
several points of view. We have seen that the people are 
striving to satisfy their desires in a variety of The purpose 
ways. We have seen that there are common of govern- 
interests, and that the welfare of one is the wel- ™®°* 
fare of all. Yet it does not always seem so. Men do not 
always recognize their dependence on, and obligation to, 
others. Sometimes they lack sufficient knowledge to do 
so. Sometimes they selfishly disregard the rights of others, 
as, for example, when a man persists in clouding the at- 
mosphere with smoke from his factory, although he knows 
it is injuring the community ; or when a railroad charges 
unjust rates, or affords inadequate facilities for trans- 
portation. Consequently we often get the impression that 
community life is a Hfe of conflict rather than of harmoni- 
ous action. Under such imperfect conditions there must 
be some just agency that is more far-sighted than any 
individual can be, to secure the intelligent working to- 
gether of all. Such an agency government is intended 
to be. 

The first idea that we must understand about gov- 
ernment in America is that it is intended to be Govern- 

., /- 7 7 7 7 • ment the 

t/ie servant of t/ie peopte and not tlieir master, servant, not 

When it begins to act contrary to the will of t^® master, 
the people, it goes beyond its rightful powers, people 

i8i 



1 82 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

The American colonists sought their independence 
from England because the EngHsh government in- 
sisted on taxing them, and otherwise exercising authority 
over them, luithout tJieir consent. In 17S7 a convention of 
leading m^n of the country, chosen by their respective 
states, met in Philadelphia, and after four months of dis- 
cussion laid before the people of the thirteen states a Con- 
stitution, containing a plan of government. The preamble 
of this Constitution emphasizes the fact that this gov- 
ernment was estabhshed by the people to do certain things 
for them. 

The simplest form of self-government is where the 
people meet together and make their own laws. Such 
Direct and ^^'-^ ^^^ town meeting in New England. When 
representa- ^^ communir\' grows large, it becomes imprac- 
govern-' ticable for the citizens to attend to the details of 
ment o;overnment bv such means. Then thev resort 

to the plan of selecting certain of their number to perform 
the work of government for them. This is representative 
self-government. The representatives ^y the people, chosen 
by the people, act /t?/' the people. 

The next fact about our government that we must 
understand is its threefold character. In the preceding 
The three- chapters there has been constant reference to 
fold char- local. State, and national governments. Each 

acter of our . ' . ^ , i r n ^-u t^ ■ t,*. 

govern- o± US IS under the control of all three. It might 

^eni seem, at first thought, that we are greatly op- 

pressed with government. We must remember that ive, the 
people, are our own rulers, and that we have simply found 
it more convenient and more to our advantage to have 
three groups of governing machinery than one. Each 
group has its particular work to do for us. Let us now 
see how the division of poivers is made among them. 



HOW THE COMMUNITY GOVERNS ITSELF 183 

The first division of powers is that between the state 
and national governments. When the Constitution was 
made, the thirteen states were already in ex- jjj^jgjQjj ^ 
istence, each with its own government organized powers be- 
under a state constitution. Why, then, was it Jj^^^^^ 
necessary to have a national government in state govem- 
addition ? It was because while the states were ^^^^ 
thirteen separate communities in many particulars, 
they were, in other particulars, only parts of one 
community with certain interests common to all alike. 
This was illustrated in chapter XII (see page 100). The 
union of a number of states under a central government 
constitutes a federal nation. The central government is 
called the federal government. 

The federal government may exercise only such powers 
as are granted to it by the people in the Constitution, and 
these powers are few in number though very important. 
They are enumerated in section 8 of article I of the Con- 
stitution. All other powers are left with the states. The 
tenth amendment to the Constitution says, ''The powers 
not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, 
nor prohibited by it to the states [see Art. I, sec. 10], are 
reserved to the states respectively, or to the people." By 
this arrangement the states retain by far the greater part 
of the governing powers. Where the national government 
controls our conduct once, the state government controls it 
many times. The state government protects us in our re- 
ligious rights (chapter XVII), provides for our education 
(chapter XV), determines who shall have the right to vote 
(page 188), prescribes the rules of marriage and of family 
relations, has almost the entire care of our health (chapter 
IX), protects our property (chapter X), controls business 
relations of every kind except where foreign and interstate 



l84 THE COMMUNITY .\ND THE CITIZEN 

relations are concerned (chapter XII). and provides for the 
prevention and punishment of crime, except in a very few 
cases that come under national control, such as the coun- 
terfeiting of money and the robbing of the mails (chap- 
ter XVIII). 

In -this division of powers between state and national 
governments we see the American love for self-govern- 
ment emphasized. The people of each state retain for 
themselves the regulation of almost all the details of their 
lives. In the course of our histor}', however, as the nation 
has beccir.e r:". :re closely bound together by common in- 
terest:. ? - d as one part has become more dependent upon 
orrers, : :e:e has been a constant tendency for the national 
government to extend the scope of its powers by a broad 
ijiterprctation of certain clauses in the Constitution. For 
example, it was by a broad interpretation of the power to 
regulate interstate commerce that Congress enacted pure 
food laws, thus protecting the health of the people, which 
has been considered primarily a duty of the state, against 
the distribution of injurious or unwholesome food materials. 
In other ways the national government is extending its ac- 
ti\-ities in behalf of the pubUc welfare, where the interests 
of the nation as a whole demand it. 

The second division of the powers of government is be- 
tween the central state government and the government 
Relation be- of local Communities. The relation between the 
nveen state ]ocal and State 2:ovemments is somewhat differ- 

and local 

govern- ent from the relation between the state and the 

ments national governments. The state governments 

are in no sense branches of the national government. 
State and national governments both get their powers 
directly from the people. The local governments are 
merely branches of the state government, and get their 




3. Finishing the road. 

Road Making by the National Government. 

This road in Tennessee was selected for improvement as an object lesson. The 
photographs were furnished by the Public Roads Inquiry Office, Dept. of 
Agriculture. 



HOW THE COMMUNITY GOVERNS ITSELF 185 

powers from it, and not from the people of the local com- 
munity. The state government is organized according to 
a plan laid down in the state constitution, which is framed 
by the people themselves. A city government is organized 
according to a plan laid down in a charter, which is granted 
to the people of the city by the state. The local governments 
have for their work primarily the carrying out of the laws 
enacted by the state government. Their duties are chiefly 
administrative. For example, there is a state law against 
burglary ; but it is the local officers who protect property 
against burglars and arrest offenders. Local governments 
are allowed some law-making powers, especially in cities^ 
where the city council enacts ordinances (see chapter 
XXII). The principle of the division of powers between 
state and local governments, however, is the same as in 
the division between national and state governments ; that 
is, to leave matters that touch the life of the individual 
most closely, and are of purely local interest, in the hands 
of the local government as much as possible, while matters 
of more general interest, such as the regulation of the rail- 
roads and matters of general health, are regulated by the 
central state government. 

The relation of the different governments to each other 
and to the people is shown by the diagram on page 186. 

A third important feature of the organization of our 
government is the separation of powers among the three 
branches — legislative, executive, and judicial, ^he sepa- 
The laws are made by the legislative branch, ration of 
The enforcement of these laws is intrusted to it^fJfJlX.®' 

executive, 
the executive branch. If any question arises as and judi- 
to the meaning of the laws, it is finally settled "^ powers 
by the judicial branch. The purpose of the separation of 
powers is to prevent any one man, or group of men, from 



l86 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

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HOW THE COMMUNITY GOVERNS ITSELF 187 

acquiring too much authority and becoming despotic. The 
legislative body may restrain the executive by refusing to 
appropriate money for executive purposes, as often hap- 
pened in the colonies; or it may impeach the executive 
(see page 256). The executive may veto a law passed by 
the legislature. The judicial branch has the final power to 
determine whether a law is in accordance with the consti- 
tution. There is thus a system of checks and balances by 
which each branch of government is restrained by the 
others, thus safeguarding the liberties of the people. This 
system is found, to a greater or less extent, in local, state, 
and national governments, though it is less definite in 
cities. 

It is a principle of American government that the 
people's representatives shall be chosen by the people 
of the various localities from their own number. Represent- 
The English colonists in America felt that they chos^enby 
were not represented in the House of Commons, the people 
because they did not have a voice in choosing q^iq^^I 
representatives to that body, nor did any member districts 
of the House come from America. In the early history of 
Massachusetts the people gradually allowed the taxing 
power to fall into the hands of a few men called the gov- 
ernor's assistants, who held office from year to year with- 
out reelection. One day the people at Watertown decided 
** that it was not safe to pay moneys after that sort, for 
fear of bringing themselves and posterity into bondage." 
Therefore " every town chose two men [from its own 
citizens] to be at the next court to advise with the governor 
and assistants about the raising of a public stock, so as 
what they should agree upon should bind all." This idea 
has determined the usual practice in the United States. 
City councils commonly consist of representatives from the 



1 88 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

several city wards, though this is not always true. In some 
states at least, each township has its representatives on 
the board of county commissioners. Each state is divided 
into districts, from each of which a representative is sent 
to the state legislature, and into other districts from each 
of which a representative is sent to the lower house of the 
national Congress. Each state has two representatives 
in the United States Senate. 

The right to vote for representatives in the government 
is called the suffrage. It is not a right that all citizens 
The suf- possess, like the right to life, liberty, and prop- 
frage erty. It is a privilege bestowed by the state 

on those who have certain qualifications. These qualifica- 
tions are prescribed by the state constitutions. Only in 
one case does the United States Constitution limit the 
right of the state to regulate the suffrage ; that limitation 
is found in th-e fifteenth amendment, adopted after the 
Civil War, which reads, ''The right of citizens of the 
United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by 
the United States, or by any state, on account of race, 
color, or previous condition of servitude." 

At the beginning of our history the right to vote was 
limited to a relatively small number of the citizens. These 
Ouaiifica- restrictions have largely been removed. We 
tions for have become more democratic. But there are 
e su rage ^^^^ g^^^g restrictions, which vary more or less 
in the different states. In no state may any one vote who 
is under twenty-one years of age. All states require a 
residence in the state, and in the county and city ward, for 
a certain time prior to voting. In colonial times the right 
to vote was denied to all who did not own a certain amount 
of property. ^ To-day property restrictions have been almost 
wholly removed. It was also common, in colonial times, to 



HOW THE COMMUNITY GOVERNS ITSELF 189 

deny the right to vote to all who were not members of the 
church (see page 170). All religious quahfications have 
long since been removed. The suffrage is denied to citi- 
zens who are mentally unsound, and in some states to those 
who cannot read and write, and to paupers. A citizen may 
also be disqualified from voting by crime. With compara- 
tively few exceptions, all male citizens who are twenty-one 
years of age or over possess the suffrage. In a few states 
even ahens may vote at all elections, provided they have 
declared their intention of becoming citizens. 

The suffrage has long been denied to women, but there 
is now a strong movement in favor of extending it to them. 
As early as 1691 women property holders in woman 
colonial Massachusetts were permitted to vote, suffrage 
New Jersey by its first constitution gave the suffrage to 
women, provided they owned a certain amount of property, 
but the right was taken from them early in the last century. 
Since that time, the first state to grant the suffrage to 
women on full equality with men was Wyoming, which 
entered the Union in 1890 with a constitutional provision 
for it. Colorado followed the example of Wyoming in 
1893, and Utah and Idaho in 1896. Not until 1910 did 
another state extend full suffrage to women, when the 
state of Washington did so, followed during the next two 
years by California, Kansas, Oregon and Arizona. 

In addition to these nine states which at present possess 
complete woman suffrage, Illinois now permits women to 
vote for presidential electors, for all elective city officers, 
and for some state and county officers ; the suffrage has 
been granted to the women of the territory of Alaska ; 
about twenty states permit women to vote on school ques- 
tions, or to exercise the suffrage in other restricted ways ; 
and a number of states are about to submit to a vote of the 



190 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

people amendments to their constitutions which, if adopted, 
will very much extend the political equality of women. 

If at an election each voter should cast his vote for the 
man of his individual choice, it might easily happen that 
Nomina- among the many men voted for no one would 
tions fairly represent a large number of citizens. It 

is necessary that the choice of the voters be limited to a 
few men who are nominated as the regular candidates for 
the offices in question. The method of nomination that 
has long been practiced is very complicated. It was not 
prescribed in the state or national constitutions, nor by 
law, but grew up gradually and became fixed by custom. 
In order to understand it, it is necessary to know some- 
thing about political parties. 

In every community there are differences of opinion on 
almost any question, as in religion, in educational matters, 
PoHticai 0^ in business poHcy. If any such question is 
parties to be acted upon, those whose opinions are alike 

will act together in opposition to those who think differ- 
ently. In questions of government there are differences 
of opinion. In the division of the people on any such 
question, those who think ahke and act together systemati- 
cally and constantly constitute a political part}\ The party 
mav be of a local character and may be formed with refer- 
ence to a local question, such as the paving of the streets 
or the licensing of saloons ; or it may be national in its 
extent and arise out of some great national question, such 
as the extension of slavery or the acquiring of new territory. 

When Washington was first elected President, questions 
of governmental pohcy had not yet divided the people, 
and his popularity was so great that all united on him 
as their choice for the presidency. When differences of 
opinion arose over the bank, foreign policy, internal im- 



HOW THE COMMUNITY GOVERNS ITSELF 191 

provements, and other matters, each party strove to elect rep- 
resentatives to the government who would carry out its ideas. 
It must first of all agree on a single candidate for each of 
the offices, so that the party's vote would not be divided. 

The first method used by the parties for the nomination 
of a candidate for the presidency was for the representa- 
tives of each party in Congress to meet and i^etho^g of 
make the nomination. This method after a nominating 
while became unpopular because the nomina- 
tion fell into the hands of a small group of politicians, and 
the people felt that they did not have a sufficient voice in 
the matter. Then the custom arose of making the nomi- 
nations in the several states. Sometimes it was done by 
the party members of the state legislature. The custom 
gradually began to prevail of holding state conventions 
composed of delegates elected especially for the purpose 
by the people of the state. This method had the advan- 
tage of placing the nomination more directly in the hands 
of the people. It had the disadvantage of tending to 
divide the party, for each state was likely to nominate its 
own favorite candidate regardless of the action of the other 
states. This difficulty was finally overcome by placing the 
nomination of the candidates for the presidency and the 
vice-presidency in the hands of a national convention com- 
posed of delegates from all the states. This is the method 
still in use for the nomination of the President and the 
Vice-President. 

For the nomination of officers other than the President 
and Vice-President the nominating convention is giving 
way, in some states, to another method which is Primary 
described on page 193. But since it is still elections 
widely used let us briefly describe the steps leading to it. 
Let us suppose that an election time is approaching, and 



192 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

that local, state, and national officers are to be elected at 
one time, although this is not always the case. Several 
months before the election day, the proper committees of 
each party call for what have been known as the primary 
elections. These must not be confused with the direct 
primaries to be described later. The so-called primary 
elections are elections held in each of the smallest (pri- 
marv) election districts of the state. In cities the primary 
district is a zuard, or precinct of the ward ; in rural com- 
munities it is the township, or precinct of the township. 
It is the business of the primary election to nominate can- 
didates for offices of the primary district, as ward council- 
men or township trustees, and to elect delegates to iwmijiat- 
ing co?ii'entio?is of larger districts. This business is trans- 
acted sometimes by ballot, each voter going to the voting 
place some time during the day ; sometimes in a meeting, 
or caucus, of the voters, very much on the order of a town- 
meeting. 

The primary elections are follow^ed in due time by the 
various conventions to nominate candidates for the offices 
Nominating 0^ ^^^ districts which they represent, and to 
conventions choose delegates to still other conventions for 
larger districts. County conventions nominate for county 
offices ; city conventions for city offices ; assembly district 
conventions for the lower house of the state legislature; 
senatorial district conventions for the state senate ; con- 
cessional district conventions for the lower house of con- 

o 

gress ; and state conventions for state offices. The state 
conventions elect delegates to the national convention for 
the nomination of the President and Vice-President. The 
nominees are chosen from among a number of men who 
have pre\-iously been announced as candidates, or who 
have been determined upon by the party managers. 



HOW THE COMiMUNITY GOVERNS ITSELF 193 

Faithful party members are expected by the party 
managers to render their support to the candidates nomi- 
nated by their respective primaries and conven- independ- 
tions ; but at every election there are many in- ^^t voting 
dependent voters who scratch their ballots, that is, scratch 
off the names of some of their party candidates and sub- 
stitute the names of candidates of other parties. This is 
largely due to the fact that many voters think it more im- 
portant to elect good men than that any particular party 
should possess all the offices. Ballot scratching has been 
more common in local elections than in national elections, 
because party lines are not so clearly drawn in the former 
as in the latter ; but it has been increasing even in national 
elections, and seems to indicate that the voters are form- 
ing the habit of deciding for themselves as to the desira- 
bility of candidates, instead of allowing a group of party 
leaders to decide for them. 

The method of nomination that has just been described 
is not only complicated, but it is objected to on other 
grounds, chiefly because it places the determina- „ . . 
tion of the candidates for election in the hands by direct 
of a few party leaders instead of in the hands P"°^^"®^ 
of the people themselves. In many states, therefore, it 
has already been supplanted by nomination by direct pri- 
maries. In most of the states that have adopted this 
method, both state and local officers are so nominated, but 
in others the direct primary is used only for the nomina- 
tion of local officers, the state officers being nominated by 
the convention system as of old. It seems probable that 
the direct primary will soon become the regular method of 
nomination in all states. 

The methods of conducting direct primaries differ in 
different states ; but, in general, any citizen possessing 



194 



THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 



the proper qualifications for holding office may become a 
candidate for nomination to a given office by securing the 
signatures of a specified number of voters to a petition. 
His name is then placed on the primar}^ ballot of his party 
along with the names of all others who have filed similar 
petitions. On the day of the primaries the voters go to 
the polls, or voting places, and cast their ballots as at a 
regular election, after ha\-ing marked the names of the 
candidates of their choice. The candidate for a given 
office who receives the largest number of votes (in some 
cases a majority is required) becomes the nominee of his 
party for that office. The direct primary is followed in 
due time by the regular election, at which the contest is 
between the nominees of the various parties. 

While the President of the United States is still nomi- 
nated bv a national convention, in a number of states laws 
„ .^ . , have been passed pro\ddin2^ for presidential 

Presidential r r o .r 

preferential preferential primaries, at which the voters at 
pnmanes ^^^ ^oVis> express their preference for the presi- 
dential candidate. The delegates to the national conven- 
tions from a state holding such a primary are thus instructed 
bv the voters for whom to vote as their nominee. Bills 
have been introduced in Congress to provide for presiden- 
tial nominating primaries throughout the United States. 
So far none of these has become law ; but, if such a law 
is enacted, it will do away with the national conventions 
for nominating the President and Vice-President. 

The period of three or four months between the nomi- 
nations and the election day is spent by each party in 
The cam- trA'ing to win support for its candidates. The 
paign winning of votes sometimes seems to be the all- 

important thing, not always, unfortunately, with due re- 
gard to the right or wrong of the methods used. 



HOW THE COMMUNITY GOVERNS ITSELF 195 

At a specified time before election day, every voter is 
required to register at his proper voting place. . This means 
recording his name, age, residence, and other Registration 
information necessary to prove his right to vote, ^^^ election 
and is intended to prevent fraudulent voting. On election 
day he again goes to the polls, is given a ballot upon which 



An Election Scene. 

Each voter has his name checked off from the book where it is registered, and 
then passes into the building, where he casts his vote. 

are printed the names of all candidates, and in the privacy 
of a voting booth marks the names of those candidates for 
whom he wishes to cast his vote. He then hands his bal- 
lot folded to an election officer who deposits it in the ballot 
box to await counting at the end of the election day. 

To arrange for the nominations, to carry on the cam- 
paign, and to provide for the elections, requires a thorough 
organization of the party. The management is largely in 



196 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

the hands of committees. Each of the election districts 

named above, from the ward to the state and nation, has 

^ . its central committee. It is the business of 

Organiza- 
tion of the these committees to keep in touch with the 

^^^^ voters, to gather and distribute information, to 

collect and disburse funds for the conduct of the campaign, 
to provide speakers, publish literature, and to do many 
other things. The committees of the larger districts, and 
especially the state and national committees, are of great 
importance and exert great influence. The chairmanship 
of the national committee is sought by ambitious men as 
much as the highest public offices in our government. 

We have been speaking, for convenience, as if there 
were only one campaign and one election time for all 
Frequency offices in our government, local, state, and 
of elections national. This is not, in fact, the case. The 
terms are not the same length for all offices. The Presi- 
dent and the Vice-President are elected for four years, 
members of the House of Representatives for two years, 
judges for the state courts, when not appointed, for from 
two to twenty-one years, governors for from one to four 
years. The practice in the United States is to make the 
terms of office short in order to give the people a chance 
frequently to express their approval or disapproval of the 
service rendered by their representatives. The frequency 
of elections is increased by the fact that in many cases 
local elections are held at different times from national 
elections. The purpose of this is primarily to prevent the 
confusion of local with national questions. At times of 
national elections attention is centered so completely upon 
the great national issues and the election of the chief 
magistrate of the land, that questions of purely local im- 
portance would be likely to be neglected. Besides, local 



HOW THE COMMUNITY GOVERNS ITSELF 197 

questions usually have nothing to do with the divisions 
between the great national political parties. 

Not all of our representatives in the government are 
chosen by a direct vote of the people. Although the gov- 
ernors of all states are now so chosen, it was indirect 
once the common practice for the state legisla- election of 
tures to elect them. United States senators sentativesof 
have always been chosen by the legislatures of government 
their respective states in accordance with the provision of 
the Constitution (Art. i, sec. 3, clause i); but by an 
amendment to the Constitution enacted in 191 3, the sena- 
tors will hereafter be elected by direct vote of the people 
of their respective states. 

The Constitution of the United States provides that the 
President and the Vice-President shall be elected by a 
group of men from each state, called electors (Art. II, sec. i, 
clause 2 ; Amendment XII). Each state may appoint 
its electors in any manner it chooses. Formerly they 
were appointed by the state legislatures; but to-day they 
are elected by popular vote in all the states. When the 
voters go to the polls on election day in November, they 
in reality cast their ballots for the electors, who have been 
nominated in the state convention, and not for the Presi- 
dent and the Vice-President directly. The intention of 
the Constitution was that the electors should have the 
choice of the President entirely in their hands, the thought 
being that they would be better able than the people to 
select a capable man for the office. Since the party 
system, with its method of making presidential nomina- 
tions, has arisen, the choice by the electors is a mere form, 
for they invariably vote for the candidates nominated by 
their parties. 

By far the greater number of those who serve the peo- 



198 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

pie in government offices are not elected at all, but are ap- 
pointed by various executive officers, such as the President, 
. . the governors, the mayors of cities, and their 

Appoint- ^ ' -^ • 1 1 r 

mentof subordinates. It \Yould be impracticable for 

officers ^i^g people to elect all the thousands of officers 

and employees necessary for carrying on the work of the 

government. It is deemed better to elect only the chief 

officials, upon whose work the people can keep their eyes 

with comparative ease, and to hold them responsible, not 

only for their own work, but also for the work of all those 

whom they appoint to subordinate positions. 

We have said that government is the ser^-ant, and not 

the master, of the people. What, then, about obedience to 

the Sfovernment.^ Shall masters obey their serv- 
The citizen ^ . ^ ., ... , 

must obey ants } The feeling of personal respojistbility for 

the govern- ^^^q conduct of community affairs, and obedience, 

ment as the -^ . 

agent of the are two of the most essential qualities of good 

community citizenship. The government represents the 
community, and the individual is called on to obey the 
government as the agent of the community. When the 
government says to an individual that he must do this, or 
that he must not do that, it is the voice of the people speak- 
ing to him through the government. It was WilHam Penn 
who said: '' Any government is free to the people under it 
ivJiere the lazvs rule and the people are a party to those lazus. 
L iberty without obediefice is confusion, and obedie?ice without 
liberty is slai'ery.'" 

FOR INVESTIGATION 

1. Re\-iew together in class the preamble of the Constitution, notic- 
ing carefully the thought and the language. 

2. Discuss direct and indirect self-government. Does direct self- 
government exist in any way in your community ? 

3. Discuss in class the meaning of democracy : of a republic. What 
other forms of government are there besides republics ? 



HOW THE COMMUNITY GOVERNS ITSELF 199 

4. Discuss the meaning of a federal nation, and of the federal gov- 
ernment. 

5. Study the powers of Congress enumerated in Art. I, sec. 8, of the 
Constitution ; the powers denied to the states in Art. I, sec. 10. 

6. Discuss some of the powers that may be exercised by both state 
and national governments. 

7. Discuss in class how the relations between state and local govern- 
ments differ from the relations between state and national governments. 

8. Give examples of how the local government carries out the pro- 
visions of state laws. 

9. Give examples of some of the laws enacted by your local govern- 
ment. 

10. What are the advantages of having our representatives live in 
our own locality ? What disadvantages might arise from this custom ? 

11. What are the qualifications for the suffrage in your state.? Do 
you think that the suffrage should be further extended, or restricted? 

12. Report on the meaning of the fifteenth amendment to the Con- 
stitution, and the historical reason for its enactment. 

13. What are the great poHtical parties of to-day ? What are some 
of the questions on which they are opposed to each other ? 

14. Are there, or have there been, in your community any local 
political parties growing out of local questions ? 

15. How are nominations made in your community ? 

16. Describe how an election is conducted in your community. 
(Special attention should be given to this while an election is in process.) 

17. Find out what you can about the organization in your community 
and state of the party which you favor (committees, etc.). 

18. Describe methods used in conducting a political campaign. 

19. What is the method of electing the President as given in the 
Constitution, Art. II, sec. 2, and Amendment XII ? Discuss in class 
the purpose of this method, and how the method actually works. 

20. How many persons hold government positions in your commu- 
nity ? What proportion of them are elected? Appointed? 

REFERENCES 

Hart, "Actual Government," chapters III-V. 

Forman, " Advanced Civics," chapters II-VII, X, XI, XIV, XXX, 
XLV. 

Bryce, " The American Commonwealth " (last edition), vol. I, chap- 
ters XXVII, XXVIII; vol. II, chapters LIII-LV ; LIX, LX, LXVI, 
LXIX-LXXI (abridged edition, chapters XXVI, XXVII, LII-LIV). 

See other standard text-books on civil government. 



CHAPTER XX 

HOW OUR METHODS OF SELF-GO VERXMEXT ARE 
CHANGING 

A GREAT many changes are taking place in our methods 
of self-government. Some of them are due to the fact 
T^/r ^t, J f that the older methods do not always work as 

MetlLods of 

government originally intended. Others are due to chang- 
c ange ^^^ conditions in our community life, which 

necessitate corresponding changes in the governing ma- 
chinery. Still others are due to changes in our ideas of 
what government should do for us. I\Iany of them are ex- 
perimental in character and may be permanent or not ac- 
cording as they prove, in the course of time, to meet real 
needs. Such experiments are often tried in some one 
locality, or state, and become more generally adopted only 
when they prove successful. In general, most of these 
changes have been in the direction of giving to a larger 
number of the people a more direct part in government; 
that is, in the direction of a more complete democracy. 
At the same time their aim has been to insure better gov- 
ernment by the people's representatives. 

We speak of our government as a government by the 
R stri t d people. As a matter of fact, comparatively few 
self-govern- of the people have ever taken any direct part 
^^^ in governing. The founders of our national 

government had no idea of giving all the people a direct 
voice in their government. They believed that safety 



CHANGING METHODS Of^ SELF-GOVERNMENT 201 

and good order depended on keeping the control of gov- 
ernment in the hands of the most competent portion of 
the people. We have seen how the suffrage was originally 
restricted, and how it has been extended only by very 
gradual stages. It was this fear of the masses of the 
people that led the makers of the Constitution to adopt the 
clumsy, and now useless, method of electing the President 
by means of a chosen body of electors (see page 197). 

Many citizens have lacked sufficient interest to take 
part in government as much as they could. 3gif_go^_ 
They do in this as they are inclined to do in emment de- 
other matters: having employed some one to {f^^ interest 
look after the business of government for them, of ailciti- 
they feel relieved of all responsibility. If we 
are to be a really self-governing people, each citizen must 
take an active part. 

There are only a few ways in which most citizens can 
take actual pait in governing, but these are very important. 
Not many citizens can hold office. In a self- The duty of 
governing community it is the duty of a citizen, taking office 
as well as a privilege, to take office when the community 
calls upon him. It may seem unnecessary to emphasize 
this, for usually there are more men who want office than 
there are offices to fill. The trouble is that the men who 
seek office do not always make the best officers. The men 
who will look after the community business best are most 
often men who have large interests of their own. The 
wide-awake community that is fully alive to its best inter- 
ests will usually look among these busy, successful men 
and say to one of them, " You are capable, honest, and 
successful in managing your own affairs ; we want you to 
help manage the community's affairs in office." Unfortu- 
nately such men too often shrink from the burdens and 



202 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

cares of office, or from giving up the necessary time from 
their own business. Patriotism to one's community calls 
for just such sacrihces. 

The same lack of patriotism is shown in a smaller way 
by a larger number of citizens who make all manner of 
Patriotism in sxcuscs to avoid public service of various kinds. 
jury sen-ice ^j\_ good example of this is in jury ser\'ice. Every 
person accused of crime or sued at law has the right to 
trial before a jury of his fellow-citizens (Constitution, 
Amendments VI and VII). Nearly every man may be 
called upon to ser^-e on a jury, and he is shirking an im- 
portant responsibihty if, without good cause, he seeks to 
avoid it. There are some classes of men who are regularly 
and properly excused from jury sen,-ice, such as physicians. 
Other men may, at times, have a valid excuse for not 
serving. The fact that it is so difficult to get jurymen 
from the best classes of citizens often results in juries of 
idlers and ignorant men. One of the strongest safeguards 
against injustice is thus weakened. 

The papng of taxes is a most important way of taking 
part in the government. All citizens who have property 
Patriotism ^^^ taxed to help pay the expense of govern- 
in paying ment. It is surprising to find how many citi- 
^^^^ zens endeavor to avoid paying their share 

toward sustaining the government in its work for them. 

Another way of taking part in government is by voting 
for the nomination and election of officers. Thousands of 
Patriotism voters fail to register or to cast their votes, 
in voting throwing away the privilege of self-government, 
and allowing others to govern them. This is especially 
true at the primaries held to elect delegates to the nomi- 
nating conventions. The choice of good men for the 
highest offices in the land, even the President, depends on 



CHANGING METHODS OF SELF-GOVERNMENT 203 

the choice of good men at these primaries. Yet it is 

notorious that the primaries are poorly attended. 

There are several reasons for this. One is that men 

feel too busy to leave their work, or they consider the 

election of delesrates and the nomination of „^, 

. Why men 

local officers too unimportant to take their time, do not at- 

Another reason voters srive for not attending tend the 

'^ . , . , pnmanes 

the primaries is that they are unacquainted with 

the candidates for nomination or election, and therefore 

cannot vote intelligently. In large communities where 

men do not know all their neighbors, it is difficult for the 

ordinary busy citizen to keep informed in regard to the 

merits of the various candidates. If a citizen is sufficiently 

interested, and does not wait until a day or two before the 

primary to inform himself, it is usually possible for him to 

enlighten himself sufficiently to cast his vote wisely. This 

excuse is often an admission of flagging interest in what 

is going on in the community during the time between 

elections. In many of our cities there are associations of 

citizens which publish, before election time, the names of 

the candidates of all parties with a sketch of their records 

as citizens and pubHc servants. 

At the primaries in New York City in 191 2 a ballot 

fourteen feet long was used, containing 590 names. 

While this is an extreme case, it illustrates the The short 

difficulty which the conscientious voter faces Fallot 

when he tries to vote intelligently. In order to remove 

this difficulty a movement has been gaining headway in 

favor of a s/iort ballot. As the name indicates, the plan 

is to reduce the number of names to be voted for to a very 

brief list. The chief means of accomplishing this is by 

having only the most important officials elected by the 

people, leaving the less important ones to be appointed 



204 THE COMMUNITY AXD THE CITIZEN 

by those elected. The few elective officials would thus 
stand out prominently before the voters, and could be 
held responsible by the people for the appointment of 
capable subordinates. This plan not only makes it 
easier for the voter to vote intelligently, but also tends to 
secure more capable men in office. 

Another thing that has kept many voters away from 

the primaries of the old type is the feeling that their votes 

have no real influence, either because of unfair 

Pnmanes 

controUed treatment at the primaries, or because the ac- 
by a few ^-^^^ ^£ ^i^^ primary and of the later nominating 
convention is determined beforehand by a few party 
leaders. Even these are not sufficient reasons. By stay- 
ing away the timid voters abandon the fight, before it is 
begun, to the small but wide-awake group of politicians, 
who can therefore run things as they please, whether for 
good or for ill. Nomination of all candidates by direct 
vote of the people (see page 193) largely removes this excuse 
of the voter for not taking interest in the primaries, since 
it gives him a real voice in the choice of candidates, and 
increases the probability of nominating acceptable men. 

This brings us to some of the dangers to self-govern- 
ment resulting from the way in which political parties are 
•organized and managed. 

Political parties are unavoidable under a form of gov- 
ernment like ours. They are the means of securing united 
^ , action anions^ the voters who think alike. A 

Dangers of ° 

the party voter cannot accomplish much unless he belongs 
^^^^ to a party and works and votes with it. Yet it 

must be remembered that a party is merely a means to ac- 
comphsh a result, and not in itself a sacred thing. The 
purpose of a party should be to secure good government 
for all the people. The words of Washington in his Fare- 



CHANGING METHODS OF SELF-GOVERNMENT 205 

well Address should always be kept in mind by the pa- 
triotic American citizen. He said: "The spirit [of party], 
unfortunately, is inseparable from our nature, having its 
root in the strongest passions of the human mind. It 
exists under different shapes in all governments, more or 
less stifled, controlled, or repressed ; but in those of the 
popular form it is seen in its greatest rankness, and is truly 
their worst enemy. The alternate domination of one faction 
over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge natural 
to party dissensions . . . is itself a frightful despotism. . . . 
The common and continual mischiefs of the spirit of party 
are sufficient to make it the interest and duty of a wise 
people to discourage and restrain it." 

To secure united action among the members of a party 
there must be organization under the direction of leaders. 

Each city ward has its leader, or leaders, who 

. .... The party 

gain their position through their ability to influ- machine, 

ence the voters of the ward and to hold them "^s^ *^^ 

bosses 
together. These ward leaders are under the 

authority of a leader, or group of leaders, for the whole 
city. If one leader gains great influence over the party 
in the city, or in the state, he is called a boss. This or- 
ganization extends throughout the nation, with branches 
in every community. The organization is often called the 
machine, the group of leaders controlling the machine 
is a political 7Hng, and the boss is the commander-in- 
chief of all, his influence sometimes being limited to a 
city, or extending over a state or even the whole nation. 

These names — machine, ring, and boss — 
were applied by the party's enemies. They do agement 
not necessarily mean anything bad. A machine ^o^ selfish 
(that is, an organization) is necessary, and there 
must be bosses, or leaders. The evil connected with these 



206 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

things arises from the fact that the machine sometimes 
falls into the hands of ambitious, but unscrupulous, bosses 
and rings, who manage the part}' merely for the part}^'s 
sake, or what is worse, for their own selfish ends. 

It sometimes happens that bosses and rings are them- 
j. ■ ^ ^ selves under the domination of wealthy corpora- 
of wealthy tions which are seeking to secure legislation 
corporations f^vQj.^|3ie to their own interests. In such cases 
the people are not their own governors, but are subject to 
the domination of the corporations, 

The leaders of a party use various methods to maintain 

their control over the voters, and over the subordinate 

leaders. Sometimes thev do it bv arsrument and 

How the . . 1 ' 1 ' . , 

party main- persuasion, sometimes by threats, sometimes by 
tains control promises of reward, and sometimes by actual 

over voters . 

briber}'. A common method is to hold before 

the party worker the promise of reward by appointment 
to some office of government. 

It was formerly customar}- for each party to have its 
ticket ( list of candidates ) printed separately and usually 

Secrecy of ^'^ paper of different color from that of other 
the baUot party ballots. It was then easy for watchers 
to see how each man voted, and he could be held to 

account if he did not vote as expected. This method 
of controlling a i^i^'s v::e vns prevented b-.- the intro- 
duction of the A:is:r,7^:,::: r.?dV:, v,-l:i:h conriins :::e names 
of the candidates of all parties on a single sheet. Each 
voter receives c::e of these from the elerrior. ontcers at the 
polls, and retires alone into a bootfx v/nere he marks the 
names of the candidates for whom he \\ishes to vote, un- 
seen by any one. The secrecy of his ballot gives him 
greater independence. A more recent innovation is the 
z-oting viachinc, a mechanical device by means of which 



CHANGING METHODS OF SELF-GOVERNMENT 207 

the voter registers his vote by operating a set of levers. 
The vote is registered and counted at one time by the 
machine, thus reducing the chance of fraud. 

Where the people are divided into parties, it is of course 
the opinions and policies of the victorious party that will 
be carried out by the government. The de- ^ . . 
feated party or parties must yield to the victors, minority 
We often say that in a democratic form of gov- ^^® 
ernment the majority rules. But where there are more 
than two political parties, as is usually the case in the 
United States, no one of the parties may include a ma- 
jority of the people; the two or more defeated parties 
may together include many more people than the one vic- 
torious party. In such cases, which are very common, it 
is a minority that rules, and the majority that has to yield. 
But whether it is the representatives of the majority or of 
the minority that administer the government, they should 
not forget that while they are in power they should govern 
as nearly as possible in the interest of a// the people. 
The defeated parties should always have a means of ex- 
pressing their views in the councils of government, and 
their views should be given every possible consideration. 

One plan to secure this result is that of p7'oportional 
representation in legislative bodies, such as state legisla- 
tures and city councils. By this plan several „ _^. 

•' J f Proportional 

representatives are elected from each election representa- 
district, and these are divided proportionally *^°" 
among the parties. Thus, if the parties are of equal 
strength in a given district, they will have an equal num- 
ber of representatives ; if one is twice as strong as another, 
it will have twice as many representatives as the other. 
The important thing is that each political group secures 
fair representation irr the legislative body. 



208 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

Another plan by which to secure elections that are in 
closer accord with the will of the majority of voters is that 
Preferential 0^ preferential voting. This plan, which has 
voting been adopted in some localities, is used where 

one of several candidates is to be elected to a single ad- 
ministrative office. It is somewhat complicated in detail, 
and in fact there are various methods by which the plan 
is carried out. In general, however, it is a plan by which 
each voter, in addition to indicating his first choice for the 
office, may mark the other candidates in the order of his 
preference ; so that, if it proves that his first choice cannot 
be elected, his second choice may be taken into account ; 
or, if that fails, his third choice, and so on. 

Besides these devices to give the people greater control 
over the choice of their representatives, there are still 
others by which these representatives may be 
more completely controlled after they are elected. 
One of these is known as the re call. This is a method by 
which the people may remove an elective official from 
office before his term expires. If a number of citizens 
believe that an official is not properly fulfilling the obliga- 
tions of his office, a petition signed by a specified number 
of voters will necessitate an election to determine whether 
the official shall remain in office or be supplanted by 
another. Elective officials are thus made more directly re- 
sponsible to the people for their acts. The recall has been 
used in a good many western communities io\ the removal 
of mayors, city councilmen, school directors, and others. 

The people are also acquiring a more direct control 
over the making of the laws. They always had the right, 
except in Delaware, to vote on proposed amendments to 
the state constitutions; and by the town meeting plan 
(see page 218; they have themselves made laws to regulate 



CHANGING METHODS OF SELF-GOVERNMENT 209 

local affairs. But in recent years a number of states and 
a great many local communities have extended the direct 
action of the people in law-making by means of the initia- 
tive and the referendum. 

The initiative is the right of the voters to initiate, or 
start, legislation. By means of it a specified number of 
voters may themselves, by petition, propose a ^^.. .. 
law ; and if the legislature does not act upon it, and 
it must be submitted to the people for their vote ^^^^^^^^^""^ 
at the next election. On the other hand, if the legislature 
passes a law that is not pleasing to a considerable number 
of the people, a petition signed by a specified number of 
voters will require the law to be referred to the people for 
their approval or rejection. This is the referendum. 
The object of the initiative and the referendurn is to force 
legislative bodies to act in accordance with the will of the 
people whom they represent ; or, if they do not do so, to 
overrule them. 

These means of direct law-making are now in use in 
many localities, and are spreading. The chief arguments 
against them are that our state governments Arguments 
were intended to be representative and not for and 
direct, and that the people as a whole are not direct 
sufficiently informed to vote intelligently upon legislation 
important laws. In reply to this it is said that it is not 
expected that the people will exercise the power of law- 
making except in cases where the legislative bodies fail 
to represent them faithfully, and that the legislatures will 
be more considerate of the will of the people in view of 
the power possessed by the latter to overrule them. It is 
said, further, that in a democratic form of government 
the people ought to be informed regarding important 
public questions with which their legislatures are deaHng, 



210 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

and that this is more likely to be the case if they know 
that they may be called upon to deal with these questions 
directly at any time. In order to provide every possible 
means for inteUigent action by the people, it is the practice 
in some states where the initiative and referendum prevail, 
to circulate printed copies of proposed laws with a state- 
ment of all important arguments on both sides. 

By far the greater number of the offices of government 
are filled by appointment and not by election. These ap- 
The civil pointive places constitute the civil service, 
service There are about three hundred thousand such 

offices or positions under the national government, and prob- 
ably as many more under the state and local governments. 
It is necessary that some of the more important of these 
offices should be filled by men who will sympathize with 
the poHcy of the government as indicated by the party in 
power, as in the positions of the cabinet officers who are 
advisors with the President and carry out his policy. 
There are, however, some offices in which party feeling 
should not be allowed to enter at all, as in the case of 
judges of our courts. Their business is to interpret the 
law and to render justice, which is always the same under 
any party. There are many thousands of other offices, or 
government positions, in which a man's party beliefs would 
make no difference in the performance of his duty, as in 
the case of postmen and mail clerks. 

It early became the practice of a victorious party to dis- 
miss many members of the defeated party who were hold- 
The spoils i^& government positions, and to fill their places 
system with its Own members. This plan began in the 

national government under Andrew Jackson, and is known 
as the spoils system, because it was founded on the princi- 
ple that "to the victors belong the spoils." 



CHANGING METHODS OF SELF-GOVERNMENT 211 

The spoils system brought with it a train of evils. The 
changes made in the civil service with each change of ad- 
ministration were injurious to the efficiency of oovem- 
the service. The worst evil was the habit it ment offices 

are posts 

cultivated of looking upon the offices of govern- of service, 
ment as booty, to be sought for, and even fought not a reward 
for, as rewards for party service. The man who works 
for a party merely for what he can get out of it in the 
shape of a salaried office is not a safe man for the people 
to put their confidence in as their representative in gov- 
ernment. 

A great deal has been done in the last few years to de- 
stroy the spoils system of making appointments to office. 
In 1883 a civil service law was passed, and a 
Civil Service Commission created by Congress, system in 
for the purpose of improving conditions. By *^® ^y^'^ 
this act a merit system of making appointments 
was introduced. By the merit system, candidates for the 
civil service must pass a competitive examination to show 
fitness, and when appointed, they hold office during good 
behavior. At first this system was applied to only a few 
of the offices, but the number of offices in which it oper- 
ates has steadily increased, until to-day more than half of 
the national offices are subject to it. The merit system 
of appointment has been adopted also in some states and 
cities. 

One of the most promising of the changes that are 
taking place in our methods of self-government is to be 
seen in the increasing effort to fill all positions j^gg^jfo,. 
in the government service with persons who business 
are trained in the kind of work they are to ™®* ° ^ 
perform, and are capable of applying good business 
methods to the public business. Although dishonesty and 



212 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

corruption have been too frequent, a far more prevalent 
cause of bad government has been the simple lack of 
business methods and good management. 

Various agencies are now at work studying the w^ork 
and methods of the many departments and offices of 
government with a view to discovering how they may be 
conducted more economically and more efficiently. In 
some of our cities there are "bureaus of municipal re- 
search "' for this purpose. Their attention has been 
directed chiefly to the study of the methods of city gov- 
ernment,, but they are now extending their activities to 
include county, state, and national governments. Largely 
through the influence of such private agencies, govern- 
ments themselves are beginning to provide means for 
self-study. Thus, the department of education in New 
York City has created a bureau of investigation to work 
constantly for more effective methods of attending to the 
enormous business of the public schools of that city. The 
federal government has a commission to study and im- 
prove its methods of keeping accounts and handling its 
routine business. 

In some foreign countries the public service offers 

careers for which young men go into training, as they 

would o-o into training for the practice of law. 

Public ser- * o i ' 

vice as a or medicine, or business. In our country the 
career feeUng has seemed to prevail that not only 

has every citizen a rigJit to hold office, but that he is 
competent to do so if he has sufficient influence to 
secure an election or an appointment. This idea is 
changing, and the time is apparently coming when, in this 
country also, the pubHc service will offer an honorable 
career to be prepared for by systematic training, or by ex- 
perience in similar kinds of work, or both. A number of 



CHANGING METHODS OF SELF-GOVERNMENT 213 

our universities now have departments to provide such 
training for young men, and other agencies with a similar 
purpose are growing up. Trained service in all depart- 
ments of the public business cannot be expected, however, 
unless there is a public demand for it. The people them- 
selves must recognize the need for it and insist upon 
having it. 

This chapter has shown how the voters, who have been 
inclined to throw all responsibility for government upon 
their representatives, are taking upon themselves Regoonsi- 
more and more direct responsibility. In like biiityofthe 
manner, citizens who cannot vote are inclined ^^^'^^^^^ 
to throw all responsibility upon those who can. There 
are many ways in which the non-voting citizen may help 
to improve the methods of government, but chief among 
these is by keeping thoroughly informed regarding the 
community needs, how they may best be met, and how 
government actually does meet them, or fails to meet them. 
One reason for the need of information on the part of 
non-voters is that they have many opportunities to work 
with private organizations in the interest of public needs, 
such as the public health, public safety, education, and 
so on, and through such organizations to bring direct 
pressure to bear upon government. Another reason is 
that many of these non-voters may soon have the power 
to vote, and should be prepared to exercise the power 
effectively. A third reason, and perhaps the most im- 
portant, is that an employee is stimulated to do his best 
work when he knows that his employer is interested in 
and thoroughly understands his work. Lack of interest on 
the part of the employer breeds lack of interest and incom- 
petency on the part of the employee. The best reason 
the citizen has for knowing about his government is be- 



214 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

cause of the effect that his possession of that knowledge 
has upon those who administer his business in government. 
Perhaps the chief defects of our system of self-govern- 
ment may be summarized as those which prevent the citizen 

from reallv having a voice in his own govern- 
Conditions ' ^ ... , , . 

are getting ment, and those which prevent the choice of 
better, not j^g^ most Competent and most trustw^orthy to 
hold office and administer our affairs. These 
defects were not anticipated when our governments were 
first formed, but have developed with the increasing com- 
plexity of our communities until they have in some cases 
become acute and cause patriotic citizens some anxiety. 
We must not, however, get a wrong impression of the 
situation. Any plan, however excellent, is bound to mis- 
carry at times when it is in the hands of imperfect human 
beings. It must not be supposed that our plan of govern- 
ment is wrong because it is sometimes wrongly used. 
Neither must it be supposed that it is wrongly used in the 
hands of all officers. Instead, we have great reason to be 
hopeful that the defects in our government will disappear. 
We can feel assured that the great majority of the people 
will do right when they see the right, and that there are 
to-day many honest and patriotic leaders who are earnestly 
striving to give the people the best that government can 
secure. Conditions are not getting worse, but better. If 
we see more corruption to-day than formerly, it is rather 
because we are opening our eyes, and are striving more 
earnestly to uproot the evils. 

FOR INVESTIGATION 

1. Discuss in class the question Avhether we are a democracy or 
an oligarchy. 

2. Why is holding office a duty? Why is it a privilege? 



CHANGING METHODS OF SELF-GOVERNMENT 21 5 

3. How are jurymen selected? What will debar a man from serv- 
ing on a jury ? What would you consider a good excuse for an ordinary 
business man's not serving when called on? 

4. Are the primaries in your community well attended? Try to 
find out the reasons for non-attendance from some of the men of your 
acquaintance. 

5. Is there any organization in your community that tries to inform 
the people of the records and character of the candidates for nomina- 
tion and election? Why might it be difficult to get reliable informa- 
tion in regard to these matters? 

6. Have any laws been passed recently in your state for the reform 
of the primaries? What are the main features of these new laws? 

7. Study those parts of Washington's Farewell Address that deal 
with political parties. Discuss carefully his meaning. 

8. Investigate the methods of conducting primaries in the worst 
districts of large cities. Where are they held? How are they man- 
aged? Are similar methods used anywhere in your own city? 

9. What per cent of the qualified voters in your city (or county) 
voted at the last election? 

10. How many names to be voted for were on the county ticket of 
the party you favor at the last election ? On the city ticket ? On the 
state ticket? 

11. What do men of your acquaintance think of the desirability of 
a short ballot in your community? Give their arguments. 

12. If proportional representation exists in your community or state, 
discuss it in detail. Also, preferential voting, the recall, the initiative 
and the referendum. 

13. Report on the application of the spoils system under Jackson's 
administration. 

14. Report on the history of civil service reform. 

15. Is the merit system of appointment used in your state? 

16. Is the merit system of appointment used in your city govern- 
ment? How does it work? 

17. Are voting machines used in your community? How do they 
work? 

REFERENCES 

Bryce, "The American Commonwealth," vol. II, chapters LXIII^ 
LXV, LXVII, LXVIII; LXXXVIII, LXXXIX ; XCVII. XCVIII. 

Roosevelt, "Essays on Practical Politics," "American Ideals and 
Other Essays." Also, "What Americanism Means," Forum, 17 : 196- 
206. 



2l6 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

Allen, William H. : •• \Vo:rian"s Part in Government." (Dodd. 
Mead & Co.. 191 1.) 

The magazine ^//^, published quarterly at 1520 Chestnut Street. 
Philadelphia, is devoted to the " promotion of improvements in govern- 
ment, especially of those methods that will result in a more perfect 
democracy. ■■ It explains and gives the current record of such subjects 
as the initiative and referendum, the recall, direct primaries, propor- 
tional representation, etc. The January number. 191 3. is particularly 
good. 

The American Proportional Representation League (Secretar}-. C. G. 
Hoag. Haverford. Pa.) publishes pamphlets relating to this subject. 
They are rather technical. 

The National Short Ballot Organization. 3S3 Fourth Avenue. New 
York, issues numerous publications. 

The Legislative Reference Bureau. Monrpelier. Vt.. in 1914 issued 
a pamphlet on Direct Primaries. It contains a tabulation of argu- 
ments both for and against. 

Bureaus of Municipal Research in New York. Philadelphia. Cincin- 
nati, and other cities, issue useful publications on emciency in city gov- 
ernment. 

For civil ser^-ice reform see : 

Fifteenth Annual Report of the U. S. Civil Service Commission, pp. 489-502, 
for an account of the growth of civil service reform. Also later reports. 

Roosevelt, " An Object Lesson in Civil Service Reform," Atlantic Monthly, (rj : 
252-257 ; " Present Status of Civil Service Reform," Atlantic Monthly, 75 : 239-246 ; 
"Six Years of Civil Service ^^iorm^" Scribner s Magazine, 18: 238-247 (also in 
" American Ideals and Other Essays "). 

The spoils system under Jackson, McMaster. •• History of the People 
of the L'nited States." vol. V. pp. 523-536. 

Ballot Reform. Johnson's Encyclopedia. 

Electoral Reform. New International Encyclopedia. 

Elections. Encyclopedia Americana. 

See also Readers" Guide to Periodical Literature on the various 
topics of the chapter. 



CHAPTER XXI 

THE GOVERNMENT OF RURAL COMMUNITIES: TOWN- 
SHIP AND COUNTY 

The English colonists who settled in America were 
familiar with forms of both national and local government 
in England. Their removal to America did not at first 
change their national government in any way, for the 
EngUsh government remained theirs. To meet their local 
needs, on the other hand, it was necessary to establish some 
form of local government in this country. In doing so, it 
was natural that they should imitate the forms with which 
they had been familiar in England. 

In the early times of English history the smallest politi- 
cal division of the land was the tozvn, which, in those days, 
consisted of a palisaded village with surrounding 
farm and pasture land; it was governed by a township 
meeting of the men of the town, or town meeting. ^^ ^°wn 
In the troublous course of early English history, 
these towns lost their right of direct self-government. 
Meanwhile another division of the land had appeared for 
purposes of church government. This was t\\Q parish, which 
was under the control of the parish priest. The parish 
usually coincided in area with the older town. The people 
of the parish met in a vestiy meeting, to assess the church 
rates for church expenses and the care of the poor. As 
the powers of the town meeting declined, the vestry meeting 
gradually assumed them, until it became really the same 
thing as the older town meeting. 

217 



2i8 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

When the Puritans left England because of restrictions 

on their religious liberty, they went in congregations ; and 

the ^"^'tien they settled in Massachusetts, they settled 

township in little palisaded communities around the church. 

system was u^^^qj. these Conditions it was natural that the 

adopted in 

New Eng- New England colonists should adopt the town, 
^^^ or parish, form of government with which they 

were famihar. Each little community, including the village 
and the surrounding farms, was called a town, or township, 
The town ^^^ ^"^'^s governed by a meeting of all the freemen 
meeting (landholders) who belonged to the church. This 
meeting was called the tozi'u meeting. It originally met in 
the church, but afterward in the toivn house. It levied 
taxes for church purposes, to provide for the poor, and 
to pay the expenses of government. It provided for a 
school. It authorized the construction and repair of roads 
and bridges. The laws enacted by the town meeting were 
called by-laws, which means town laws- 

For the execution of the by-laws it was necessar}^ for 
the town meeting to elect officers. First of all, there were 
Town from three to nine selectmen, the number vary- 

officers ing with the size of the township. They had 

general supervision over all community business. They 
represented the town when the town meeting was not in 
session, and called the town meeting when necessary. The 
toum clerk kept the records of the business of the town. 
The toivn treasurer received the taxes of the people, and 
paid the expenses of the community. There were tax 
assessors, who determined the amount of tax each citizen 
must pay, and overseers of the poor. The constable served 
warrants issued by the selectmen, arrested criminals, and 
sometimes collected the taxes. Each town had also a 
school committee. 



TOWNSHIP AND COUNTY 219 

In England, at the time when America was colonized, 
the parish was only a part of the local government. 
There was also the shirey or county. The county origin of 
included a number of parishes, or townships, the county 
Over the county there was a government which at one 
time was composed of representatives from the townships 
and cities, but which afterward consisted of a number of 
justices of the peace appointed by the king. These justices 
constituted the court of quarter sessions, meeting every 
quarter of the year to hold court. They were both a judi- 
cial body, trying cases at law, and an administrative body, 
managing the affairs of the county. 

The colonists of Virginia did not come Hke the Pilgrims 
for religious freedom, or like the later settlers of Massa- 
chusetts for political freedom. They came in ^j^^ county 
search of wealth. Virginia is a rich farming system in 
country, in which the cultivation of tobacco in ^^8^* 
great plantations proved to be the most profitable industry. 
The colonists scattered themselves along the rivers, as 
planters, instead of living in compact communities like the 
New England colonists. When they organized themselves 
for local government, therefore, they adopted the English 
plan of county government, instead of the township plan. 
The whole colony was divided into counties, over each of 
which was placed a county court, consisting of eight justices 
of the peace. These justices were appointed by the 
governor of the colony, as in England they were appointed 
by the king, but they could themselves fill vacancies in 
their number. The county court was primarily a judicial 
body, trying cases at law, and meeting for the purpose 
about once a month at a designated point called the county 
seat. It had also administrative powers, as in England. 
It appointed highway surveyors and constables. It levied 



220 



THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 



taxes for the maintenance of roads and bridges, and for 
other expenses of government. In each county there was 
a sheriff, appointed by the colonial governor. His chief 
duties were to execute the judgments of the court, and to 
serve as treasurer and tax collector. Another important 
officer was the county lieutenant, who had command of the 
militia. 



mm.'''^ 



p^aiittiH 



Comrrigfa, 1906, by Bttrcnt PubUsTiing Co. 

Court House, Dex^-er, Colo. 

Thus we find two forms of local government in the colo- 
nies. Both were brought from England, but each was 
Two forms adapted to the peculiar conditions in which the 

of local colonists found themselves. The township sys- 
govem- ^ -' 

ment tem prevailed throughout New England, where 

it is still the unit of the political organization. The town 
meeting may still be found in many small communities, 



TOWNSHIP AND COUNTY 221 

although it has necessarily been abandoned for the repre- 
sentative system in the larger communities. The county 
system prevailed, with some variations, throughout the 
Southern colonies, where the conditions of life were very 
much aUke, and it is to-day the unit of the political organi- 
zation throughout the Southern states. 

New York and Pennsylvania, lying between New Eng- 
land and the Southern colonies, were influenced in their 
forms of local government by both sections, jhe mixed 
They developed both township and county, type 
In New York the township predominated, and it was organ- 
ized very much as in New England. The townships, how- 
ever, were grouped into counties, and each township in a 
county elected each year a member of the county board of 
supervisors. In Pennsylvania, also, there were both town- 
ship and county, but the latter predominated over the town- 
ship. The county officers in Pennsylvania were all elected 
by the people of the county, instead of being appointed by 
the governor as in Virginia. 

Throughout the West the mixed form of township-county 
government prevails, sometimes the township, sometimes 
the county, predominating. The influence of the township 
is especially strong in the Northwest, where there The influ- 
is a large New England population. In Michi- the town 
gan, northern lUinois, and other parts of the meeting 
Northwest, the town meeting still manages the affairs 
of the township. The influence of the town meeting in 
developing a strong citizenship has been very great. All 
voters have the right to attend and to take part in the 
discussion and settlement of affairs. Experience shows 
that, as a rule, they take advantage of their right. Others 
besides voters often attend in order to listen to the discus- 
sions. The town meeting thus becomes a school of instruc- 



222 



THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 



tion in public matters. Nowhere else do we find such 

general interest in public questions as in the parts of the 




CopyrigU, 1906, by Letroii Fxiblishing Co. 

Court House, Detroit, Mich. 



country where the town meeting prevails. It encourages 
healthy, active citizenship. 

The county system of representative government is more 



TOWNSHIP AND COUNTY 223 

practicable throughout the West than the township with 
government by town meeting. The country is ^j^^ town- 
almost wholly agricultural and the population is ship in the 
widely scattered. On the other hand, the exist- ^®^* 
ence of the congressional townships surveyed by the na- 
tional government to aid in the settlement of the land (see 
page 49), suggested that they be adopted as civil town- 
ships for purposes of local government. Everywhere 
throughout the West, therefore, we find both township and 
county governments with varying relations between them. 
Even in the South the counties are tending to break up into 
smaller divisions for some purposes of local government, 
especially in connection with school administration. The 
principle of local self-government is strong among the peo- 
ple, and they prefer the smaller township to the county as 
the unit of government. Except in the Northwest, how- 
ever, the government of the township is now representative. 
It is in the hands of township trustees, who correspond to 
the earlier selectmen ; the clerk, who keeps the records ; 
the tax assessors and collectors ; the justice of the peace, 
who presides over the township court for the trial of minor 
cases ; the school trustees ; the overseers of the poor ; and 
numerous minor officers. At the present time the most im- 
portant matters under the control of the township govern- 
ment are the schools, the roads, and the poor. 

The main governing body of the county is the board of 
county commissioners, or supervisors. They administer 
the affairs of the county : they fix the rate of tax- xhe West- 
ation ; appropriate money for the building and ^^ county 
repairing of public buildings, such as the courthouse and 
jail, and for the construction of roads and bridges; and ap- 
point subordinate officials. Every county has its court, 
which is of higher grade than the township justice court, and 



224 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

is held at the county seat. The commands of the court 
are carried out by the sheriff, who also maintains order in 
the county and usually has charge of the county jail and 
its inmates. There are various other officers, among whom 
are the county treasurer, the tax assessors and collectors, 
the superintendent of schools, the clerk, the coroner, and 
the surveyor. 

In those states where the township has the chief impor- 
tance in local government, the county exists for little more 
than judicial purposes. In other states the county govern- 
ment has many of the powers which the township govern- 
ment exercises elsewhere. There seems to be a growing 
tendency to centralize the administration of many local 
affairs in the county government, or at least to give the 
county government supervision over the affairs of the 
townships. This is seen in the administration of the schools 
and of roads. This supervision secures greater uniformity 
and efficiency than would be the case if each township had 
exclusive control over these matters. 

The government of rural communities seems a compara- 
tively simple matter. The pressing . problems of city and 
Importance national government have thrown it into the 

of local background. But it has an importance that de- 

government 1.1. 1 ■ r 

mands the mterest and attention of every citizen. 
In the first place, the township and county have always 
been the units of local self-government. No matter how 
isolated a farmer and his family may be, these governments 
provide him with a direct means of cooperating with others 
for the satisfaction of his immediate wants and the protec- 
tion of his rights. Besides, upon the excellence of these 
local means of self-government depends in large measure 
the success or failure of the general governments of state 
and nation. 



TOWNSHIP AND COUNTY 225 

In the second place, these forms of local government 
have acquired new importance because of the very fact of 
the growth of cities and the increasing com- Adaptation 
plexity of community life. They were origi- to local 
nally adapted to the peculiar needs of rural 
communities and small towns. To-day, however, many 
counties contain large city populations. Some, in fact, 
are occupied wholly by large cities, as in the case of New 
York City and Chicago. We have seen how the old form 
of township government by town-meeting has had to give 
way before increasing population. But in spite of the 
great changes in conditions through the transformation of 
rural into urban, or partly urban, communities, the form 
of county government has remained almost unchanged. 

Where cities have grown up within counties their gov- 
ernments overlap and duplicate, in many ways, the county 
governments. This often results in conflict of q-^^^^^ ^^^^ 
authority, wastefulness, and inefficiency. Den- counties 
ver has solved the difficulty by consolidating ®^®^*p 
city and county by providing for a single board of five 
commissioners at the head of both city and county govern- 
ments, and making city and county officers subordinate to 
this board. In Alameda County, California, where a part 
of the county is distinctly rural and another part made up 
of a group of cities, it is proposed to have a county board 
of which the mayors of the cities will be members, and 
to consolidate some of the county and city offices. 

Another feature of county government which is con- 
sidered weak, especially where the population is large, is 
the large number of elective officers. In Cali- short ballot 
fornia, for example, there were formerly elected ^° counties 
in each county every four years five commissioners, a 
sheriff, a county superintendent of schools, a coroner, a 



226 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

public administrator, a county clerk, a district attorney, an 
auditor, a treasurer, a tax collector, an assessor, a recorder 
and a surveyor, besides a number of constables and justices 
of the peace. Each of these officers, being elected by the 
people, would feel independent of all the others, so that 
instead of perfect cooperation, there might be lack of har- 
mony and unity in the administration of the county busi- 
ness. Besides this, since many of the offices thus filled by 
election are comparatively obscure, the people do not take 
great interest in them. Some of the office holders are 
often wholly unknown to many of the voters. The result 
is likely to be an inferior type of officials. The remedy 
proposed for this, and already in practice in some states, is 
the short ballot (see page 203). The present law in Los 
Angeles County, California, for example, provides for the 
election of not more than three officers in any one year, 
while most of the offices are filled by appointment. 

The county is an administrative division of the state. 
That is, an important part of the work of its government 
Home rule ^^ ^^ administer the laws of the state within its 
for counties boundaries. For this reason there must be 
some uniformity among all the counties and some control 
over them by the state government. On the other hand, 
there are many matters of purely local concern that come 
under the jurisdiction of the county government. Where 
there are such differences among the counties as exist in 
most of the states, many believe that better results would 
be obtained in matters of purely local interest if a larger 
degree of home rule were allowed. Again California has 
taken the lead in this matter by enacting a state law which 
allows to each county the right to adopt its own charter, or 
form of local government, a right which the cities of that 
state have enjoyed for some time past. 



TOWNSHIP AND COUNTY 22/ 

In these and other ways county government is being 
modified, especially in the West, to meet the changing 
conditions of community life. 

FOR INVESTIGATION 

1. Is the township or the county the more important division for 
local rural government in your state ? Can you explain why ? 

2. Are town meetings ever held in your state ? If so, have you 
ever attended one ? Describe the meeting. 

3. What are your township officers ? Make a list of them, and 
state their duties. 

4. How are the various township officers chosen ? 

5. Is there any law-making, or legislative, body in your township .'* 
If so, with what kinds of things do its laws deal ? 

6. How are the laws enforced in your township ? 

7. Are there any courts in your township ? If so, what are they ? 
What kinds of cases do they try ? 

8. Make a list of your county officers. State their duties. 

9. How are the county officers chosen ? 

10. What legislative body is there in your county ? 

11. What executive officers are there? 

12. Do the county legislative officers have any executive powers ? 

13. Are there any county courts in your county ? What kinds of 
cases do they try ? 

14. What buildings belong to your county and township ? What 
are their uses ? 

15. Make a map of your county, showing townships. Notice the 
shape of the townships and the county. Do their boundaries follow 
the lines of the government survey ? Explain any irregularities in the 
shape of the townships. Locate the county seat. 

16. Find out how many of your township and county officers your 
father now knows by name. Compare notes in class on this point. 
Does the result show great interest in township and county government 
or not ? 

17. Can you find cases in your community in which the duties of 
various local officers duplicate each other ? 

18. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of applying the short 
ballot to your own county. Also the desirability of a larger degree of 
home rule for your county. 



228 THE COMMUNITY AXD THE CITIZEN 



REFERENCES 

Hart "Actual Government," chapter X. 
Forman. *• Advanced Civics,"' chapters XXVI-XXVIII. 
Br\-ce. •• The American Commonwealth," vol. I, chapters XLVIII, 
XLIX (abridged edition, chapters XLVII, XLVIII). 
Fiske. •• Ci\-il Government-" chapters II-IV. 
'•New England Town Meeting of To-day/* Outlook, 'j^ : 405-409 

(1903)- 

'•Description of a Town Meeting." Outlook. 32 : 561-565 (1906). 

'• Town Meetings for Cities." Xation. 32 : 434 (1906). 

••Brookline and Her Government by Direct Legislation." Arena, 
34:39-91 (1905)- 

.Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science^ 
vol. XLVII, May. 1914: "County Government." The most compre- 
hensive study of county government yet published. Part I deals with 
" T\'pes of count}- government " ; Part II with •• T\-pical problems of 
county government "' ; Part III with " Plans for the reorganization of 
count}- government." 

The New York Short Ballot Association (381 Fourth Ave.) has is- 
sued in pamphlet form the proceedings of the 1913 and 1914 meetings 
of the Conference for the Study and Reform of County Government. 



CHAPTER XXII 
THE GOVERNMENT OF THE CITY 

The growth of cities in the United States has been very 
rapid. In 1790, when the first census was taken, there 
were in the United States only six cities with R^pjjj 
a population of 8000 or more. The largest, growth of 
Philadelphia, had but 28,500 people, and all to- "*^^^ 
gether the six cities contained 132,000 population. In 
1 9 10 there were yjZ cities of 8000 population or more, 
comprising a total of 35,726,720 people. New York at 
the last census had four and three-quarters million, while 
Chicago, which was founded only in 1830, had consider- 
ably more than two milUon population. In 1790 but 3.3 
per cent of the total population of the country lived in 
cities ; to-day, cities contain about 40 per cent of the total 
population. 

Cities have brought with them serious problems of com- 
munity Hfe and of government. Where so many people 
are crowded together, there are many conflict- proijiemg of 
ing interests. Each person is more dependent city govern- 
on others for his well-being than is the case in °^^"* 
rural communities. The mixed character of the population 
found in most large cities also presents problems difficult 
of solution (see chapter VII). Other problems are found 
in the distribution of the population, involving the question 
of transportation and that of the crowded tenement dis- 
tricts. Still other difficulties arise from the rapid growth of 
cities to a size originally unexpected. In the early days of 
Chicago, for example, men had no idea that it would ever 

229 



230 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

be a great city. Care is not taken, under such circum- 
stances, to plan these young cities for the accommodation 
of future crowds. As it is, American cities are constantly 
being made over, often resulting in an unsymmetrical ap- 
pearance and perhaps in great inconvenience. These and 
other problems did not attract much attention until after 
the Civil War ; since then city government has become 
one of the greatest problems before the American people. 
Cities, like counties and townships, receive their right of 
self-government from the state. Their form of govern- 
ment and the powers they may exercise are pre- 
ceive their scribed in a charter granted by the legislature, 
"^^^°^ iust as some of the colonies received charters 

self-govern- -' 

ment from from the king. The city does not always have 
the state qy^u the right of ratifying the charter. Since 
the charters are often long and detailed, and since the 

legislature usually holds the right to change them at will, 
the amount of self-government left to the city may be very 
limited. This control over the details of the business of 
Control by cities by state legislatures is considered one of 
legislature the chief obstacles to good city government. 
Legislators from all parts of the state, many of them from 
rural districts, cannot know the peculiar needs of the city 
so well as the people of the city themselves. Besides, it 
is much easier for scheming politicians and corrupt cor- 
porations to exercise an influence over a few legislators 
than over the citizens of the city. 

This interference by state legislatures has been checked 
somewhat by the provision in some states for a general form 
Tendency of charter for all cities of about the same size. 
seW-gov-^^^ The legislature cannot, then, modify the charter 
emment of one city without similarly modifying the 
charters of all cities of the same class, and this is likely to 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE CITY 



231 



arouse opposition. On the other hand, this plan may 
make it difficult for a city to have its charter changed when 
it wants to do so, because of the possible opposition to 
such changes on the part of other'cities in the same class. 




Copyright, 1906, by Detroit Publishing Co. 

City Hall, Boston, Mass. 

In a number of states, as in CaHfornia, cities are allowed 
by the state to draft their own form of government, which, 
after having been ratified by the voters of the city, is sub- 
mitted to the legislature for approval. This principle of 
home rule for cities is spreading at the present time. 



232 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

The form of government for cities in the United States 
has undergone a good many changes, and at the present 
time varies to a considerable extent in different cities. As 
in the case of state and national governments, city govern- 
ments exercise legislative, executive and judicial powers, 
but the separation of these powers (see page 185) has not 
always been clearly marked. 

In the form of city government that has been most 
common in recent years the legislative power is vested in 
The city ^ ^ity council. Its members are elected by the 
council people, the city being divided into ivards, from 

each of which one or more representatives are chosen. 
In some cases the council consists of two chambers, an 
upper chamber, or board of aldermen, and a lower chamber, 
or com'inoji couiiciL The upper chamber is always the 
smaller. The term of office of councilmen is short, usually 
one or two years. Their salaries generally are small. 
For the transaction of business the council is organized 
into committees, such as the committee on streets, on 
public buildings, and on finance. The mayor ordinarily 
presides over the meetings of the council, and sometimes 
has the power to I'eto its acts. 

There was a time when practically all of the powers of 
government were held by the council. It had administra- 
tive, as well as law-making, powers. The business of the 
fire department, the police, the streets, was managed by its 
committees, or by officers appointed by the council. There 
was a mayor, elected by the people, but he had very little 
power. He was little more than a presiding officer for the 
council. He was often a magistrate with judicial powers. 

This form of government proved unsatisfactory. There 
were several objections to it. One was the difficulty of 
fixing responsibihty. It also resulted in a lack of unity 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE CITY 233 

in government, since the various committees were not 
always harmonious. Furthermore, the elective council 
members were frequently incompetent to direct _ 
the business of the various city departments, government 
These defects resulted in an important change ^^ council 
by which the powers of the council were greatly reduced, 
while those of the mayor were correspondingly increased. 
The council had never had wide legislative powers, since 
they extended only to matters of local concern not regu- 
lated by state law. Its most important legislative power 
is that of controlling taxation and expenditures for city 
purposes. In some cities even this power was restricted 
by a special board of estimate with large powers over the 
city's finances, as in the City of New York. Another im- 
portant power of the council is that of granting franchises 
(see page 54). The council was stripped entirely of its ad- 
ministrative powers. The mayor became the real executive 
head of the city. He is elected by popular vote Executive, 
in all cities, for a term varying from one to The mayor 
five years. His salary also varies from a very small sum 
in many cities to ;^ 15,000 in New York City. 

The work of administering the business of a large city 
is so great and so complex that it has to be subdivided. 
Hence there are various administrative depart- ^^^-^ 
ments under the supervisioii of chiefs or boards, tive depart- 
Perhaps the most important of these is the ™®^*^ 
department that manages the money affairs of the city. 
There is always a treasurer, who has the care of the city's 
funds and who makes payments when authorized by the 
proper authorities. In some cities there is also a controller, 
who is the real director of the finance department. We 
have heard before of the health department, usually man- 
aged by a board (see page 60); the fire department (page 



234 



THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 



72) and Xh^ police dtpartment {^^2.gQ ^6), both of which are 
sometimes united mider the supervision of a board of 
safety ; the sirtct department {^?igQ 115) and the building 
department, which are also sometimes combined under a 
board of public luorks. The street-cleajmig department 
(page 63) is often separate from the street department, 




CovvrigM, 1906, h 

City Hall, Louisville, Ky. 



which looks after the construction and repairing of the 
streets. The department of edncativn is under the man- 
agement of a board of school commissiojiers (page 144). 
These are only a few of the administrative branches found 
in our various cities, and each one of these is subdivided 
into several divisions or bureaus. Under them is a large 
number of subordinate officers and employees. 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE CITY 235 

In America there has always been a fear of giving 
any one man too much power. It was this that led, at 
one time, to placing the government in the 
hands of the council. It has also led to the tionof 
election by popular vote, and for short terms, powers in 
of many of the administrative officers, in the 
belief that by so doing the people could keep their hands 
directly on the administration of the city's business. In 
the complexity of the affairs of a city, and with the numer- 
ous officers necessary to manage them, it is impossible for 
the people to hold every officer responsible to themselves, 
or even to know them. When anything goes wrong, it 
has been found almost impossible to fix the responsibility 
on any one. In handling the vast sums of money neces- 
sary in city government, and in the granting of franchises 
and the letting of contracts, there is abundant opportunity 
for things to go wrong. Therefore the tendency has been, 
in our best governed cities, to give the mayor full power to 
appoint his subordinates, as well as to remove them, at 
least in the case of the more responsible positions, and 
then to hold him responsible for the acts of his appointees. 

City government has suffered greatly from the spoils 
system (page 210). When a new mayor is elected, he 
usually appoints new boards and heads of 
departments, and these, in turn, too frequently parties and 
remove subordinates in their departments to "*y govern- 
make way for personal or political friends. 
One of the chief causes for this is the part that the na- 
tional political parties take in city elections. National po- 
Htical questions have no place in city elections. Cities 
have local self-government in order to manage their local 
business, such as paving streets, granting franchises, pro- 
tecting property and health. These are purely business 



236 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

matters that demand business ability and honesty on the 
part of those who manage them, and have no relation to 
the great national issues that di\ide the parties against 
each other. The national parties retain their hold on cit)^ 
affairs partly to prevent party spirit and interest from 
flagging in the period ber^'een national elections, and 
partlv to have at their disposal the vast number of city 
offices as rewards for faithful part}- workers in the com- 
munitv. The result of this is that not only the responsible 
positions at the head of administrative departments, but 
minor positions, such as those of policemen and of clerks 
in the ch." :fhces, are too often filled with men who have 
some claim on the party in power, but very little on the 
confidence of the people. 

One means of remo\Tng cities from partisan control is 
bv holding city elections at a different time from state and 
Civil service national elections, in the hope of avoiding con- 
refonn fusion between local and national questions. 

More important than this is the introduction of the merit 
svstem in the appointment of cit}' officials and emplo3^ees 
(see page 2 1 1 ). Good city government cannot be expected 
until those who carry it on hold their positions solely on 
the ground of efficienc}^ and faithfulness to the trust re- 
posed in them. 

Two forms of government very different from that 
alreadv described have recently been introduced in many 
^ . . ciries. One of these is the commissioji form. 

Commission -^ 

form of Bv this plan the government is placed wholly in 

government ^^^ hands of a commission of from three to nine 
men (most often five) who are elected by the people at 
large. One member of the commission is designated as 
mayor, but he has no powers different from those of the 
other members. He presides over the meetings of the 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE CITY 237 

commission, and on public occasions acts as the official 
head of the city. The commission as a whole acts as a 
legislative body and decides on the policy to be followed 
by the government. Each member of the commission is 
placed at the head of one of the main departments of the 
city government. Thus there is a commissioner of public 
works, a commissioner of finance, a commissioner of public 
safety, and so on. 

This form of city government was first adopted in Gal- 
veston, Texas, after the city had been devastated by storm 
and flood, and when the crisis demanded a simple, but 
energetic and efficient, business management. Since then 
it has spread widely, having been adopted with slight vari- 
ations by hundreds of cities in many states. 

Some of the advantages of the commission plan are said 

to be : (i) that it prevents the concentration of too much 

power in the hands of one man, the mayor; ., 

^ ' -^ ' Advantages 

(2) that it supplants the large council with the of commis- 
small commission, which makes it easier for the ®^°^^°^™ 
people to hold their legislative body responsible for its 
acts ; (3) that it fixes the responsibility for the man- 
agement of each department of government upon one 
man ; (4) that it facilitates the transaction of the city's 
business. Under the old plan of government there are 
often many delays in getting business through the council, 
with its numerous committees, and through the various 
administrative offices. Under the commission form each 
commissioner is on duty all the time. The several commis- 
sioners may hold a joint meeting at any time as the occasion 
demands ; the old council meets but once a week, at night. 
Under the commission form of government the principle 
of the short ballot is applied (see page 203). It is also usu- 
ally accompanied by the initiative, the referendum, and the 



238 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

recall, which are additional means for holding the mem- 
bers of the commission and their subordinates responsible 
directly to the people (see page 208). 

The chief objections to the commission plan are two. 
It is said by many to be unwise to combine legislative and 

^^. . administrative powers in one body. It is further 

Objections ^ 

to commis- urged that the commission plan tends to break 
sion form ^^ ^^^ ^•^^^. government into three, five, or more 
parts, without sufficient provision for unit}\ These objec- 
tions are said to be overcome, in large measure, by the 
most recent form of city government now in operation in 
a few cities. This is the city-majiager plan. 

The citv-manager plan of government is Hke the com- 
mission plan in that there is a commission, or small coun- 
cil, of three or five men (rarelv more). But it 

City-man- ^ 

ager plan differs from the commission plan in that the 

of govern- commission appoints a " citv manager " to 
mem ^^ .' . . 

whom is given full power to admmister, or man- 
age, the cit}''s business in all its departments, and to ap- 
point his own subordinates. The commission becomes 
wholly a legislative bodv, determines what the policy of 
the government shall be, appoints the manager, and holds 
him responsible for the conduct of the city's affairs. It 
may also remove the manager from office at any time. 
The people, on the other hand, hold the commission re- 
sponsible for the manager's acts, and usually have the 
power of recall over its members. The relation between 
the commission and the manager is like that between a 
board of directors in a business organization and the man- 
ager or superintendent whom they choose : or Uke that 
between a board of education and the superintendent of 
schools. In fact, the commission becomes a board of di- 
rectors for the city, and the city manager is their expert 
superintendent. 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE CITY 



239 



The position of city manager requires large ability and 
thorough training. Therefore, in most cases, the council 
is given authority to seek its manager wherever Expert man- 
he may be found throughout the country, and agement 
the salary is large enough to attract competent men. 
When the city of Sumter, S. C, which was the first city to 
adopt the city-manager plan, sought a manager, it adver- 
tised widely throughout the country. One hundred and 
fifty replies to the advertisement were received, mostly 
from trained civil engineers, and from this Hst the com- 
mission made its choice. 

The city-manager plan of government has spread from 
Sumter, S. C, to a number of other cities, especially in 
Ohio. It may still be said to be an experiment, 
but it seems to be growing in favor. The chief of city- 
advantages claimed for it are that it applies to manager 

1 . . 1 r 1 1 . plan 

city government the principles of good business 

management ; that it simplifies and unifies the transaction 
of the city's business ; that it places city government in 
the hands of experts; that it fixes responsibiUty in one 
place ; that it avoids the confusion between legislative and 
executive powers that is said to be a fault of the commis- 
sion plan ; and that it gives the people full control over 
their city government. 

For the exercise of the judicial powers of government 
cities have courts. There are police courts before which 
are brought persons arrested by the police for 
minor offenses ; there are higher criminal courts 
for the trial of more serious cases ; and there are civil 
courts for the settlement of disputes over property rights. 
In many cities there are, in addition, special courts of vari- 
ous kinds, such as juvenile courts for the trial of juvenile 
offenders (see page 178). In some of the large cities there 



240 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

are night courts, to provide immediate trial for the large 
number of persons arrested at night. The judges of the 
various courts are sometimes appointed by the mavor, 
sometimes elected by the people. 

A great deal depends on the efifectiveness ^ith which 
the courts are conducted. It is of course important to all 
Importance Concerned that impartial justice be administered 
of courts ^j^ every case. Further, a wise judge mav do 
much to turn offenders away from paths of crime, while 
an unwise or unscrupulous judge may harden or embitter 
those brought before him. The police courts also have 
much to do with the efficiency of the police department. 
The poHce can hardly be expected to be diligent in bring- 
ing offenders to trial if there is any doubt about receiWng 
the full support of the courts. It is highly important that 
the citizen should look carefullv after the character and 
fitness of the judges, and the methods b}' which justice is 
administered. 

FOR mVESTIGATION 

1. What causes have led to the rapid growth of American cities ? 

2. Investigate your city charter with respect to the following points : 
By whom was it drafted ? Did the people of the city have any voice 
in determining what the charter should contain ? Has it ever been 
changed, and if so. how? Is it a special charter for your city alone, or 
is it a general charter, hke that of other cities of the same size .'* 

3. Investigate your city councU with respect to the following points : 
Has it one or two chambers ? How are its members chosen ? How 
many members from each ward? What is their term of office? What 
are the qualifications for councilmen? What is their salary? Where 
and how often do they meet? Who presides at its meetings? What 
are the important committees of the council ? 

4. How is the mayor of your cit}- chosen ? What is his salary- ? His 
term of office? Is the mayor of your cit}- often reelected for a second 
or third term? 

5 . Does the mayor in your city have large appointing powers ? Does 
he have full power of removal from office ? Is he held responsible for 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE CITY 241 

the acts of the various administrative departments ? Does he have the 
veto power over the acts of the council? 

6. Make a list of the administrative departments of your city govern- 
ment. Report on the organization of each department. How are the 
heads of the various departments chosen ? What are the duties of each 
department ? 

7. Do any of these administrative departments have legislative 
powers? Does the council have any executive powers? 

8. Ascertain about how many persons are employed by the city 
government. In what departments do you find the largest force of 
employees? 

9. Does the merit system of appointment prevail in your city? If 
so, to what extent? 

ID. Describe the commission form of city government; the city- 
manager plan ; compare the two. 

II. Discuss in class the reasons for the many changes in the forms 
of city government. ^ 

REFERENCES 

Hart, '^Actual Government," chapters XI, XII. 

Forman, ''Advanced Civics," chapter XXIX. 

Bryce, '' The American Commonwealth," vol. II, chapters L-LII 
(abridged edition, chapters XLIX-LI). 

Goodnow, "City Government in the United States," "Municipal 
Problems." 

Beard, "American City Government" (Century Company, 191 2). 

Bru^re, "The New City Government" (Appleton, 1912). 

Woodruff, "City Government by Commission" (Appleton, 191 2). 

"The City Manager Plan of Municipal Government," a pamphlet 
issued by the National Short Ballot Association, New York, 1913. 

Wilcox, " The American City." 

Fairlie, " Municipal Administration." 

Howe, " The City, the Hope of Democracy." 

On state control of cities, see : 

Beard, " American City Government, pp. 31-51. 

Goodnow, " City Government in the United States, chapters V, VI. 

Wilcox, " The American City," chapter XI. 

Goodnow, " Municipal Problems," chapter IV. 

On national parties and city government, see : 
Goodnow, " Municipal Problems," chapter VIII. 

See Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature for recent magazine 
articles. 



CHAPTER XXIII 

THE GOVERNMENT OF THE STATE 

Each state in the Union has a written constitution. 
This constitution is the fundamental law of the state, and 
State con- gi^'^s to the government its form and powers. 
stitutions It is a law made by the people themselves, is 
superior to laws made by the legislature, and cannot 
be changed in any way except by the people themselves. 
The constitutions of the original thirteen states were 
adopted when these states declared their independence 
from England, and took the place of the colonial charters 
which had been granted by the king. They were a sub- 
stitution of self-government for government by the king. 
The other states adopted their constitutions when they 
entered the Union. Each state constitution was framed 
bv a convention of delegates chosen by the people for this 
purpose, and was ratified, in most cases, by a vote of the 
people. 

The constitution provides for its own amendment and 
re\'ision if defects appear, or if conditions change to such 
^^ . an extent that its provisions are not adequate, 

ment and Am^endment of the constitution consists merely 
revision ^ changing some of its pro\'isions ; re\4sion is 
a recasting of the whole constitution. Both processes re- 
quire the consent of the voters of the state. Amendments 
are usually enacted by the legislature and submitted to the 
vote of the people at the polls. Revision usually takes 

242 



• THE GOVERNMENT OF THE STATE 243 

place by means of a convention of delegates elected by the 
people for the purpose. The revised constitution is nearly 
always submitted to the vote of the people. In some 
states the constitution requires the legislature to give the 
people an opportunity to revise the constitution at stated 
intervals, say every ten or twenty years. 

The constitution thus represents the supreme will of the 
people, and is intended to prevent any encroachment on 
their rights and liberties either by themselves or j,^^ consti- 
by the government which the constitution creates, tution repre- 
One of the most important parts of every state gupfej^^ 
constitution, therefore, is the dz// of rights, which win of the 
is a detailed statement of the rights which must P®°P® 
not be infringed on by the government. In almost every 
state, the bill of rights occupies a prominent place in the 
first part of the constitution. 

The main part of each constitution contains the plan of 
government. Although the governments of the states 
differ in details to meet the peculiar conditions q^^^^^ lan 
of each, the general plan is the same in all. of govern- 
The federal Constitution guarantees to each °^®°* 
state a republican form of government (Art. IV, sec. 4); 
that is, a form of self-government without the domination 
of a king. In each state the government is divided into 
legislative, executive, and judicial branches, with a separa- 
tion of powers much more complete than is usual in cities 
(page 232). 

In all the states, at the present time, the legislature con- 
sists of two chambers, or houses. The upper chamber, or 
senate^ is usually from one third to one half the xhe legis- 
size of the lower chamber, or house of represent- Mature 
atives. In the two-chambered legislature we have an- 
other illustration of the system of checks and balances ; 



244 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN ' 

for every bilL or proposed measure, must pass each house 
separately before it can become a law. The people have 
always been afraid of the law-making power, and have 
hedged it around with restrictions and pro\isions to make 
Checks on hast}" law-making difficult. For this reason, not 
^^^" only must the law pass each house separately, 
power but in everv state but one the sfovernor is sdven 

a check on the legislature in his I'tto power. A bill to 
become a law must be signed by the governor. If he dis- 
approves of the bill, he may prevent its passage by vetoing 
it, or recording his vote against it. However, the legisla- 
ture may overcome the governor's veto by again passing 
the bill, usually by a two-thirds majorit}'. 

The members of the legislature are chosen bv papular 
vote. In many of the states the legislature meets but once 
in two years, and its sessions are Umited to a period of from 
forty to ninety days, both of which pro\dsions are intended 
to prevent too much law-making. The lieutenant governor 
usually presides over the senate, while the house of repre- 
sentatives elects a speaker to preside. The speaker and 
the president of the senate have the power of appointing 
the committees in the two houses, by which most of the 
business of law-making is done. 

The h=-^-:r.::.ki:-.r power of the legislature extends to any 
subject v.h.arever. except as it is Hmited by the Constitution 
Restrictions ' Art. I. sec. lo), the laws, and the treaties of the 

iTt^e'bf " ^'"^-^^ -^^^^5' ^^ by ^^^ constitution of the 
the people State. The earlier state constitutions were short, 
and contained few restrictions on the power of the legisla- 
ture. But partly through the love of the people for direct 
self-government, and partly because of a growing fear of 
the power of legislatures, the tendencv has been to insert 
more details in the constitutions of the newer states, and 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE STATE 



245 



to leave less to the discretion of the legislatures. The 
initiative and the referendum, which have been introduced 
in a number of the states (see page 209), serve as a further 
means by which the people have undertaken to curb the 
power of the legislature. 




Indiana State House. 



A great many influences are brought to bear on state 
legislatures, which determine more or less completely the 
character of the laws passed. Legislation is influence on 
often dictated by a political boss (see page 205), legislation 
who may, in turn, be the representative of private interests. 
Citizens and corporations who have special interests which 
they wish the legislature to favor go, or send their repre- 
sentatives, to the legislative halls and committee rooms, and 
try to bring influences to bear on the legislators to secure 
the passage of the desired laws. This is known as lobby- 
ing. 



246 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

Legislatures watch for every expression of public opin- 
ion on questions that come before them. The opinion of 
Public the people expressed through the newspapers, 

opinion by pubUc meetings, or by personal letters, has a 

great influence. This is one of the strongest safeguards of 
self-government. Law-makers seldom dare to meet the dis- 
approval of the people when it is clearly and strongly ex- 
pressed. From this it is evident that the responsibility of 
the citizen for his own self-government does not end when 
he elects his representative to the legislature. He must 
have opinions of his own on public questions, and must 
make them known. 

As in city governments, the executive branch of state 
government is divided and subdivided into numerous de- 
The execu- partments, bureaus, and commissions. The 
ti^® chief executive officer is the governor, who is 

elected by the people, and whose term of office varies 
from one to four years. His chief duty, in theory, is to 
see that the laws of the state are faithfully executed. In 
fact, however, the governor does not have the power to 
enforce the laws that we should expect him to have. As 
we have seen (page 185), counties and townships and even 
cities are administrative divisions of the state government, 
and the enforcement of state laws is largely in the hands 
of local officers. Over these local officers the governor 
usually has no authorit}'. He cannot remove them in case 
they fail to enforce the laws. Only in extreme cases, such as 
riot, or other serious disturbance, which the local authorities 
prove incapable of handling, may the governor intervene 
with the state militia, of which he is the commander-in-chief. 

Still further, the governor is only one of the executive 
officers of the state. Among the most important of the 
other executive officers are the treasurer ; the auditor (or 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE STATE 247 

comptroller^, who manages the financial affairs of the state, 
and instructs the treasurer what moneys to pay out ; the 
secretary of state, who keeps the records of the ^j^^ , , 
state ; the attorjiey-generalj who is the legal ad- of depart- 
visor of the executive heads, and represents the ^^^ ^ 
state in court ; and the superintendent of schools. These 
officers do not constitute a governor's cabmet, as the similar 
officers in the national government do for the President 
(see page 259). They are not appointed by him, as a rule, 
nor are they, removable by him. They may belong to dif- 
ferent parties. They are elected, in most cases, directly by 
the people, and the governor has no authority over them. 
This was intended to give the people more direct „ 
control over the executive business of the state, responsibil- 
and to prevent the governor from assuming too **^ 
much power. In reality it weakens the executive, for it 
divides responsibility. 

On the other hand, the governor has considerable in- 
fluence over legislation. Not only has he the veto power, 
already mentioned, but he may recommend, in r^^^ ^^^^.^ 
formal messages to the legislature, legislation of the gov- 
that he thinks should be enacted. He frequently ^™°^ 
goes about the state making speeches for or against pro- 
posed legislation, thus creating a public opinion which the 
legislature fears to disregard. The governor may also call 
special sessions of the legislature' to force consideration of 
measures that have not been attended to in the regular 
sessions. 

Among the powers of the governor is that of pardoning 
criminals ; but even this power is in some states transferred 
to a board of pardons. He also has the power of appoint- 
ment to many state positions, as in the case of heads of ad- 
ministrative bureaus and state institutions, such as forestry 



248 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

bureaus, and institutions for the blind, deaf, and insane ; 
and members of special commissions and boards, such as 
railway commissions and boards of health and charities. 
The approval of the legislature is usually required in the 
governor's appointments. 

Questions are constantly arising as to the meaning of 

the law, or how it applies to a particular case. To decide 

such questions the state constitution provides a 

The courts ^ ^ . . ....... 

system of courts, constitutmg the judicial branch 
of government. They are the stronghold of the citizen 
against injustice. 

The most numerous courts are the justices' courts, at 
least one of which is to be found in every community, 
Justices' easily accessible to the people. They are the 
courts lowest grade of state courts, before which are 

tried pettv offenses against law and order and trifling dis- 
putes over property. The judges who preside over these 
courts are ca.\lQd jitstices of the peace. In cities there are 
other courts of the same class, known as police courts, which 
are made necessary by the great number of misdemeanors 
committed in city life. 

Next above the justices' courts are the district, or cir- 
cuit, courts. They are called district courts because the 
District State is divided into judicial districts (see page 

courts ^-^^ each of which has a single court of this 

grade. Thev are called circuit courts because the presid- 
ing judge holds the court first in one county of the dis- 
trict, and then in another, until the circuit of the counties 
is completed. 

It is before the circuit or district courts that the ma- 
jority of cases of importance are brought for trial. Many 
cases first tried before a justice's court are appealed to the 
district court for a second trial. This is because, in the first 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE STATE 249 

place, district judges are more able and better trained men 
than the justices of the peace; and because, in the second 
place, 2. jury trial may always be had in the district court. 
The Constitution of the United State provides that every 
man shall have the right to trial by jury in all criminal 
cases, and in civil cases involving a sum of more than 
^20 (Amendments VI and VII). 

In large cities there are often criminal courts, and other 
special courts, to meet the needs of city life, and to relieve 
the district courts of a portion of the work that ^^^ ^^^ 
would otherwise come before them. In some county 
states there is also a county court for each county, *^°"'"*^ 
besides /;'^^<^/r, chancery, and other courts, for the trial of 
special classes of cases. 

Each state has one supreme court, which usually holds 
its sessions at the state capital, although for convenience 
it sometimes holds sessions in other cities. It supreme 
consists of several judges, who are presided ^^^^^ 
over by a chief justice. The work of this court is almost 
altogether appellate ; that is, the cases tried before it are 
usually appealed to it from the lower courts. There are, 
however, certain classes of cases that come before the 
supreme court for first trial, such as cases in which the 
official action of state officers is in question. 

In the first constitutions of the original thirteen states 
it was provided that the judges should be appointed by 
the governor or chosen by the legislature. As xheaoooint- 
the movement toward a more democratic govern- ment of 
ment grew, the states began to provide for the ^" ^^^ 
election of their judges by the people. In most of the 
states, at the present time, the judges are so chosen, 
though in some they are appointed by the governor and in 
others by the legislature. The election, of the judges by 



2 50 THE COM.MUXITY AND THE CITIZEN 

the people, at the same time with other state officers, tends 
to make their selection a matter of party politics. This is 
especially true when they are elected for short terms, as is 
usually the case. The courts should be entirely removed 
from partisan disputes, and this is best accomplished by 
a life tenure of office, as is the case in the federal courts. 

It has been proposed to give the people a certain con- 
trol over the judges, as over executive officers, by applying 
RecaU of ^^le principle of the recall ; only in this case it 
decisions jg ^ot a recall of the judge himself, but of his 
decision, that is proposed. For example, if a judge should 
declare a law unconstitutional, a number of voters might, 
by petition, require the question to be voted on at an elec- 
tion. If a majority of the voters agreed with the judge, 
his decision would stand ; otherwise it would not. It is 
said by the friends of this idea that if the people make 
the constitution, they should have the final right of declar- 
ing what they intended it to miean. The recall of judicial 
decisions is so far permitted in but one state, Colorado. 

FOR mVZSTIGATION 

1. Report on the first constitutional convention of your state. 

2. Has 3-our state constitution ever been revised ? How many 
times ? How was it done ? 

3. How many amendments have been made to your state constitu- 
tion ? What is the method of amendment provided in your constitu- 
tion ? 

4. Describe the organization of the legislature. How often does it 
meet ? How long are its sessions ? 

5. What restrictions are placed on the legislature by Art. I. sec 10. 
of the federal Constitution ? 

6. Is the legislature in your state positively forbidden to do certain 
things by the state constitution ? What are they ? 

7. What different courts exist in your state ? 

8. How are iur\-men selected ? 

9. If you live in a large city, what special cit}- courts exist there ? 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE STATE 25 1 

10. How are the judges chosen in your state ? What is their term 
of office ? 

11. Debate the question, " The judges of the state courts should be 
appointed by the governor for life." 

12. What are the executive departments in your state ? How are 
their heads chosen ? 

13. Does the governor of your state have the pardoning power, or 
is there a board of pardons ? Is the pardoning power often exercised ? 

14. Does the governor of your state often exercise the veto power ? 
How may a bill be passed over his veto ? 

REFERENCES 

Hart, "Actual Government," chapters VI-IX. 
Forman, "Advanced Civics," chapters XXII-XXIV. 
Bryce, "The American Commonwealth," vol. II, part II. 
Beard, "American Citizenship," chaps. IX, XV. 
Copies of the state constitution should be available. 



CHAPTER XXIV 

THE GOVERNMENT OF THE NATION 

The American colonists sought their independence be- 
cause of the despotism of king and parhament, and they 
had instilled in them a fear and hatred of a 
nes^s'of the powerful centralized government. When they 
govern- declared their independence, therefore, it was as 
the^Axticfes thirteen states, independent of each other as 
of Confeder- ^yell as of England. They did create a central 
government under the Articles of Confedera- 
tion ; but this government was only for purposes of com- 
mon defense. It had no power to tax the people ; it had 
no executive authority to compel them to do its bidding. 
The experience of the people under the Confederation 
taught them that there were common interests among the 
states that were not being protected, and conflicting inter- 
ests that were rapidly leading to disunion and anarchy 
(page lOO). They discovered the truth that no government 
is even worse than a despotic government. 

A convention of leading men was therefore called in 
1787 for the purpose of amending the weak points of the 
The consti- ^^^icles of Confederation. These Articles pro- 
tutionai vided that no amendment could be made without 
convention ^^ unanimous consent of the states ; and this 
could not be obtained from the jealous and quarreling 
states. In this extremity the wise leaders of the conven- 
tion determined to frame an entirely new constitution, 

2:;2 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE NATION 253 

totally changing the form of government, and to submit it 
to the people for their acceptance or rejection. This they 
did ; and after the greatest difficulty the new Constitution 
was ratified by the people of a sufficient number of states 
to make it binding on them. In due time it was ratified 
by all of the original thirteen states. 

The Constitution prescribes, in Article V, the methods 
by which it may be amended. These methods are suffi- 
ciently difficult to prevent frequent or hasty Method of 
changes in the fundamental law, but not so amendment 
difficult as to prohibit changes when it is clearly the will 
of the people that they be made. Amendments may be 
proposed either by Congress, when two thirds of both 
houses deem it necessary ; or by a national convention 
called for the purpose by Congress on the request of the leg- 
islatures of two thirds of the states. When amendments 
have been proposed by either of these methods they must 
be ratified by at least three fourths of the states acting 
through their legislatures or through state conventions, as 
Congress may indicate. Seventeen amendments to the 
Constitution have been made since its adoption. 

The first great problem that the constitutional conven- 
tion had to solve was the creation of a government strong 
enough to protect the common interests of all Distribution 
the states, while not so powerful as to destroy °^ powers 
their independence. This problem was solved by the 
carefully adjusted distribution of powers referred to on 
page 183. First, there were CQ,rt3.m powers gra?ited exclu- 
sively to the federal government, such as to make war and 
peace, to make treaties and alliances, to send and receive 
ambassadors, to regulate foreign and interstate commerce, 
to coin money, and some others. Second, there were 
certain povuei's to be exercised concjtrrently by both state 



2 54 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

and national governments, such as the power of taxation 
and of borrowing money. Third, there v;qtq pozvers denied 
to the federal government {^^^ Art. I, sec. 9; Amendments 
I-VIII). Fourth, there were poivcrs denied to the states 
(Art. I, sec. 10). Fifth, all ''powers not delegated to the 
United States by the Constitution nor prohibited by it to 
the states are reserved to the states respectively or to the 
people "" ( Amendment X ). 

In the general plan of the national government the 
convention was influenced by the plan of the state gov- 
ernments. Provision was therefore made for a legislative, 
an executive, and a judicial branch, with the same separa- 
tion of powers that is found in the states. 

The question at once arose as to the basis of represen- 
tation in the Congress, which was to consist of t^vo houses. 
Representa- Some of the delegates, representing the smaller 
tion in states, believed that all the states should have 

ongres,s q^^ representation, thus keeping prominent the 
idea that the Union was a mere league of states. Dele- 
gates from the larger states, on the other hand, arguing 
that the states together constituted a single nation, believed 
that the several states should be represented in proportion 
to their population. The contest was settled by a compro- 
mise, according to which each state was to have two 
representatives in the Senate, and proportional represen- 
tation in the House of Representatives. According to 
the apportionment following the census of 1910. there is 
one representative for every 212,407 people, making a 
total of 435 members in the House of Representatives. 

The members of the House of Representatives are elected 
by direct vote of the people, one from each of the congres- 
sional districts into which each state is divided. The 
number of concTessional districts in each state is deter- 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE NATION 255 

mined by the population of the state at the most recent 
census. The members of the Senate are considered as 
representing their states, rather than the people, xhe Senate 
It was orisfinally provided that they should be and the 

1,1 1., /AT X House of 

elected by the state legislatures (Art. 1, sec. 3), Represent- 
but by the seventeenth amendment to the Con- stives 
stitution they will hereafter be elected by vote of the people. 
A higher age qualification was fixed for membership in the 
Senate than in the House (Art. I, sec. 2, clause 2 ; sec. 3, 
clause 3). The term of office of senators is six years, while 
that of representatives is only two. The term of office of 
only one third of the senators expires at the same time, so 
that at least two thirds of the Senate is always experienced, 
while the House may be almost entirely made over at any 
election. These and other causes have made the Senate 
a more dignified and conservative body than the House of 
Representatives. 

The greater conservatism of the Senate was intended, in 
part, as a check on the impetuosity of the direct representa- 
tives of the people, and, in part, to fit it for its 

, . ^1 r- Powers of 

special executive duties. 1 he Senate must con- the Senate 

firm all appointments made by the President, and the 

House 
and must, by a two thirds vote, ratify all treaties 

made by the President before they can go into effect (Art. 
n, sec. 2). The Senate moves more slowly in its delibera- 
tions than the House, takes more time for debate, and 
exercises a steadying influence on the lower and more 
numerous body. On the other hand, the House serves as 
a check on the Senate and has certain powers not held by 
the latter. All bills for raising revenue must originate in 
the House, although the Senate may suggest amendments 
to them (Art. I, sec. 7). All other bills may originate in 
either house, but must pass each house separately. The 



256 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

House has the sole power of impeachment ; but the Senate 
must act as the court to try the impeachment (Art. I, sec. 2, 
clause 5 ; sec. 3, clause 6). Six judges, one President, and 
one Secretar}^ of War have been impeached by the House 
of Representatives in our history, but only in the cases of 
three of the judges did the Senate convict. 

Both houses of Congress are organized into a large 
number of committees, by which most of the work of 
^ .^ leo;islation is done. Every bill proposed in either 

Committees ^ j ir r 

and the house is referred to its appropriate committee 

spe er £^^ consideration. A large proportion of these 
bills never come out of committee at all. Those that are 
reported back to Congress are usually passed or not in 
accordance with the recommendation of the committees. 
Until recently the committees of the House of Represent- 
atives were appointed by the Speaker, who is the presid- 
ing officer of the House, elected by it, and of course 
representing the majority. This control over the com- 
mittees gave the Speaker great power over legislation. 
At present, however, the committees of the House are 
elected by it, a majority of each committee representing 
the majority party of the House. By this and other 
means the power of the Speaker has been materially 
reduced. The committees of the Senate are elected by 
that body. 

One of the chief defects of the government under the 
Articles of Confederation was the lack of a strong execu- 
The execu- ^^^'^- ^^^^ ^^^ memory of the despotism of the 
tive king caused opposition, in the convention of 

1787, to the estabhshment of a single executive head. Ex- 
perience in the state governments, however, had shown that 
a single executive head was not dangerous if his powers 
were properly limited and checked. The result was that 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE NATION 257 

the executive branch of the national government was made 
to consist of a President, with a short term of four years, 
who shall be removable from office by impeachment if he 
ventures to assume powers not conferred on him. A Vice- 
President also was created, who, however, has no executive 
powers except in the event of the President's death, when 
he assumes that office. He is presiding officer over the 
Senate, but he has no vote in legislation except in case of 
a tie. The President and the Vice-President are elected 
by the peculiar electoral system described on page 197 
(Constitution, Art. II, sec. i, and Amendment XII). This 
method, originally intended to remove the choice from the 
control of the masses, fails to do so, and is now a mere 
form because of the development of the party system of 
making nominations. 

Although in the states the executive power is divided 
among the governor and other officers (see page 246), in 
the national government it is concentrated com- ^ ^ 
pletely in the hands of the President. The tion of exec- 
heads of the executive departments y constituting "*^^® power 
the President's cabinet, are appointed by the President 
with the advice and consent of the Senate (Art. II, sec. 2, 
clause 2) and are removable by him. They are responsible 
to him alone, and carry oiit the policy of government dic- 
tated by him. If anything goes wrong in any of the execu- 
tive departments, the people hold the President responsible 
for it, and may show their disapproval at the next election. 

The President's power to make appointments, like his 
power to make treaties with foreign nations, is jj^^ power 
limited by requiring the advice and consent of the of the Presi- 
Senate. On the other hand, the President has ^^* 
a check on legislation in his veto power, although Congress 
may pass a law over the President's veto by a two thirds 



2 58 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

vote. The veto power of the President was intended to 
prevent Congress from going beyond the powers granted 
to it in the Constitution. It has often been exercised, how- 
ever, merely because the President disapproved the meas- 
ure enacted by Congress. The President has exercised 
the veto power much more in recent years than formerly. 
Congress very rarely passes a law over the President's 
veto. The President has some further influence in legisla- 
tion by his power to call special sessions of Congress and 
through his messages to Congress, in which he suggests 
questions that, in his opinion, demand legislative action. 

In the appointment of the subordinate officers and em- 
ployees of the civil service, Congress, and especially the 
Encroach- Senate, is accused of encroaching on the powers 
'f^^'i,'"'. of the President. The latter, in seeking for 

the Presi- '^ 

dent's ap- suitable persons to fill the thousands of places 

pointing ^ j^- disposal in all parts of the countrv, has 
power by r r ^ ' 

Congress naturally come to depend largely on the senators 
and representatives from the different sections for informa- 
tion regarding the qualifications of the candidates. Be- 
cause of this, the members of Congress have, in the course 
of time, assumed the right to make nominations for these 
offices, and expect the President to accept their suggestions. 
The President has often been forced to accede to the wishes 
of congressmen in the matter of appointment by their refusal 
to enact legislation that he wishes unless he does accede. 

In this way the Congress has, in a measure, taken upon 
itself some of the powers that belong to the President. 
Generally speaking, this has lowered the efficiency of the 
civil service by encouraging the spoils system. This evil 
has, in part, been checked by the introduction of the merit 
system of appointment to a large proportion of the offices 
in the civil ser\dce (see page 211). 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE NATION 259 

The President's cabinet is made up of the heads of the 
ten executive departments — State, the Treasury, War, 
the Navy, Justice, Post Office, the Interior, Agriculture, 
Commerce, and Labor. 

Through the Department of State relations are main- 
tained between the United States and foreign powers. 
The Secretary of State is in constant communi- Department 
cation with the ambassadors, ministers, consuls, ^^ state 
and other representatives of our government in foreign 
countries, and with the similar representatives of foreign 
governments in this country. . He is also the channel of 
communication between the President of the United States 
and the governors of the several states. Through him the 
rights of American citizens in foreign countries are looked 
after. The Secretary of State is the first in rank among 
the cabinet members, and would by law succeed to the 
Presidency in case of the death or removal of both the 
President and the Vice-President. 

The Secretary of the Treasury is the financial manager 
of the national government. Besides having charge of the 
planning and collection of the revenues, the coin- Treasury 
age and printing of money, and other financial Department 
matters, he also controls the construction and maintenance 
of public buildings and administers the life-saving service 
and the public health service of the national government. 

The Secretary of War has control, under the President, 
of the military establishment of the nation. He also ad- 
ministers river and harbor improvements and war 
the prevention of obstruction to navigation. Department 
He has direction of the Bureau of Insular Affairs, which 
supervises the civil government of Porto Rico and the 
Philippines. 

The Attorney-General is the head of the Department of 



26o THE CO.ALAIUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

Justice. He is the chief law officer of the government, 
Department representing it in court either personally or 
of Justice through subordinates, and giving legal advice to 
the President and the heads of the other departments. 

The Postmaster General directs the Post Office Depart- 
Post Office rnent. Besides administering the regular postal 
Department service in all its branches, he also has charge 
of the newly established postal savings system. 

The Secretary of the Navy superintends all matters per- 
Ifavy taining to the "construction, manning, equip- 

Department nient, and employment of vessels of war." 

The Secretary of the Interior has under his administra- 
tion a wide variety of matters pertaining to the internal 
Department ^^^^^^^^ of the nation. Through many bureaus 
of the and divisions of the department he has charge 

Intenor ^£ ^^iq public lands, the care of the national 

parks, the giving of patents for inventions, the pension- 
ing of old soldiers, Indian affairs, education, the reclama- 
tion ser\'ice, the geological survey, the improvement of 
methods of mining and the safety of miners, certain mat- 
ters pertaining to the territories of the United States, and 
the supervision of certain hospitals and charitable institu- 
tions in the District of Columbia. 

The Secretary of Agriculture promotes, through the 

various divisions of his department, the general agricul- 

^ _^ ^ tural interests of the countrv. In his depart- 
Department - ^ 

of Agri- ment are bureaus of animal industry, of plant 

culture industry, of soils, of chemistry, of entomology 

(for the study of insects in their relations to agriculture), 
and of biology (for the study of animals and birds in the 
same relations). He also administers the weather bureau 
and the forest service and assists in the development of 
good roads through the office of public roads. 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE NATION 26 1 

The Secretary of Commerce has charge of the depart- 
ment whose business is to promote the commercial inter- 
ests of the nation. The Bureau of Foreign and department 
Domestic Commerce aids in the development ofCom- 
of the manufacturing industries and in finding °^®^^® 
markets for them. It collects information regarding the 
trade conditions at home and abroad. The Department of 
Commerce also includes the Bureau of Corporations, the 
Census Bureau, and the Bureaus of Lighthouses, of Navi- 
gation, and of Fisheries. 

The Secretary of Labor is the head of the most recently 
established executive department, and is charged with the 
duty of " fostering, promoting, and developing Department 
the welfare of the wage earners of the United °^ ^^^^^ 
States, improving their working conditions, and advancing 
their opportunities for profitable employment." Among 
the important bureaus of this department are the Bureaus 
of Immigration and of Naturalization, and the Children's 
Bureau, recently established to " investigate and report 
upon all matters pertaining to the welfare of children and 
child Ufe among all classes of our people." 

This brief description of these executive departments 
will serve to suggest the great variety of ways in which 
the national government is looking after the common wel- 
fare, the common interests of the national community, 
touching the lives of all of us at many points. 

The Constitution provides for a system of federal courts 
entirely distinct from the state courts. It says, " The judi- 
cial power of the United States shall be vested The judi- 
in one Supreme Court, and in such inferior "^y 
courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and 
estabhsh " (Art. Ill, sec. i). The number of judges in 
the Supreme Court is determined by Congress, and at 



262 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

present is nine. They meet at Washington and are pre- 
sided over by one of their number, who is designated as 
the Chief Justice. In addition to the Supreme Court, there 
are nine circuit courts of appeals, each circuit including 
several states; and seventy-nine district courts. There is 
also a coui-t of claims, before which are brought claims 
against the government : and a coiij-t of customs appeals. 
The judges of all the federal courts are appointed by the 
President and hold office '''' during good beha\-ior" (Art. 
Ill, sec. I). 

The powers of the federal courts are stated in the Con- 
stitution (x\rt. Ill, sec. 2). In general, they may be said 
Powers of ^^ include cases of a national or interstate char- 
the federal acter. A case nrst brought to trial before a 

courts 1 111-^ 

State court may be appealed to the Supreme 

Court of the United States when the Constitution, the 

laws, or the treaties of the United States are involved. 

Its decisions are final over those of the state courts. It is 

the final authority ("under the people themselves) in the 

interpretation of the Constitution. It may declare null 

and void an act of Congress or any state law which, in its 

opinion, is contrary to the pro\*isions of the Constitution. 

It might seem that the Supreme Court thus has power 

which might make it despotic, and give it control over the 

other branches of the government; but it has no means of 

enforcing a despotic judgment That must be done by the 

executive. If the court should attempt to push its authoritv 

too far, it would find itself in conflict with both Congress 

and the executive. At the elections the people would show 

whether they supported the court or the other branches 

of government. And, finally, Congress has the weapon of 

impeachment by which offending judges may be removed. 

The Supreme Court has excited the admiration of the 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE NATION 263 

world, not only because of its purpose as defender of the 
Constitution, but because of the ability and integrity its 
judges have shown in performing their duty. It has 
always, with one or two possible exceptions, shown a 
strong disposition to render its opinions in accordance 
with the intentions of the Constitution, and thus to be 
strictly representative of the people. 

Besides the thirteen original states which were united 
under the Constitution in the beginning, the United States 
at that time included territorial domains extend- 

1 1 n/r--''T-.- T 1 "^^6 terri- 

nig westward to the Mississippi River. In the tories of the 
course of events our nation expanded by the United 
acquisition of new territory until it reached 
the Pacific Ocean. This domain had to be governed. For 
this purpose Congress organized it into /^m/^r/^i- under the 
direct control of the federal government, but granting to 
them limited powers of self-government through legisla- 
tures of their own. To these territories Congress held out 
the promise of statehood, when their population and other 
conditions should warrant it, on exactly equal terms with 
the original thirteen states. To-day our national flag con- 
tains forty-eight stars, and no part of continental United 
States (exclusive of Alaska) remains under a territorial 
form of government. 

The territorial expansion of the United States has con- 
tinued, however, beyond its natural continental boundaries. 
Alaska was purchased in 1867. As a result of Territorial 
the Spanish war Porto Rico and the Philippine expansion 
Islands came into our possession. Hawaii was annexed 
about the same time, and a number of small islands in the 
Pacific have been acquired as naval stations. All of these 
territories and possessions are under the control of the 
federal government. 



264 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEX 

Alaska and Hawaii are regularly organized territories, 
just as Arizona and New Mexico were before they were 
Alaska and recently admitted as states. The government of 
Hawaii each consists of a governor, appointed by the 

President -^ith the advice and consent of the Senate ; a 
legislature of two houses, whose members are elected by 
the people of the territory ; and courts, whose judges are 
appointed by the President. The people of each territory 
also elect a delegate to Congress, with the right to take 
part in its debates but not to vote. Congress has power to 
admit these territories to statehood. . 

The Philippines, Porto Rico, and the other islands be- 
longing to the United States are possessions rather than 
territories. They are more completely controlled by the 
federal government than Alaska and Hawaii. 

At the head of the general government of the Philip- 
pines is the Philippine Commnssion, which consists of a 
ThePhmp- Governor-General and eight commissioners, all 
pine Islands gf whom are appointed by the President with 
the advice and consent of the Senate. Five members of the 
Commission are heads of executive departments, as wxll 
as having legislative powers. The other four members 
have only legislative powers. 

The Commission also constitutes the upper house of the 
legislature, the low^er house consisting of members elected 
by the people of the various districts into which the civiUzed 
portion of the islands is di\ided. For the unci\dlized por- 
tion of the islands the Commission of nine is the sole legis- 
lative body. 

There is also a system of courts. The judges of the 
Supreme Court of the islands are appointed by the Presi- 
dent, while those of the lower courts are appointed by the 
Governor-General with the approval of the Commission. 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE NATION 265 

The Philippines also have two resident commissioners to 
the United States, with seats in the House of Representa- 
tives but without the right to vote. 

The Philippines are divided into a number of provinces, 
each of which is governed by a provincial board of three 
members. Each province consists of a number of " mu- 
nicipalities," each with its own local government. 

It has been the policy of the federal government to 
give to the Philippine Islands, as also to Porto Rico, as 
large a degree of self-government as possible, «, ,, 
and to educate the people for it as rapidly as ment in the 
may be. The municipalities are almost wholly ^ ippmes 
self-governing, with supervision only of their financial 
affairs and of the police. Of the three members of the 
provincial boards two are elected by the people, and the 
third (the treasurer), while appointed by the Governor- 
General, is often a Filipino. In the general government, 
five of the nine members of the Commission have been 
Filipinos, and the lower house of the legislature is elected 
by the people. All of the justices of the peace and many 
of the higher judges' are natives. In 19 12 nearly 6000 
Filipinos competed in the examinations for civil service 
positions, and two thirds of these positions were held by 
them. 

In appointing the first Philippine Commission President 
McKinley said, " The commission should bear in mind that 
the government which they are establishing is Rggyitsof 
designed not for our satisfaction . . . but for American 
the happiness, peace, and prosperity of the Phil- ^ ® 
ippine Islands." A great deal of money has been expended 
in carrying out this policy. Most notable, perhaps, of all 
the work done by our government in the PhiUppines is that 
by which such dread diseases as cholera, smallpox, and the 



266 THE COMMUNITY .IXD THE CITIZEN 

bubonic plague have been fought and largely stamped out. 
In addition to this an educational system has been estab- 
lished, roads and other means of communication improved, 
and steps taken to conserve the rich natural resources of 
the islands. 

The government of Porto Rico is very similar in its 
plan to that of the Philippines, consisting of a governor, 
appointed by the President ; a legislature of two 
houses, — an upper house of eleven members ap- 
pointed by the President, five of whom must be natives, and 
a lower house elected by the people ; and a system of 
courts. There are also self-governing municipahties, and a 
resident commissioner to the United States. The federal 
government supen'ises the government of Porto Rico and 
of the Philippines through the Bureau of Insular Affairs 
in the War Department. 

Whether the Philippines and Porto Rico shall be allowed 
to pass into the stage of territorial government with the 
promise of future statehood, or shall be trained in self- 
government until they shall be granted more or less com- 
plete independence of the United States, is one of the 
questions for the future to answer. Each course has its 
advocates. 

Our smaller insular possessions, such as Guam and the 
Samoan Islands, are merely naval stations and are governed 
bv the naval commandants stationed there. The District 
of Columbia, including \\'ashington, the seat of the federal 
government, is governed wholly by Congress as its legisla- 
ture, and by executive and judicial officers appointed by the 
President. Its people have absolutely no powers of self- 
ofovernment. 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE NATION 267 

FOR INVESTIGATION 

1. Report on the story of the Constitutional Convention of 1787. 
Also on the ratification of the Constitution by the states. 

2. Study the organization of Congress as provided in the Constitu- 
tion. 

3. Report on the powers of the speaker of the House of Representa- 
tives. 

4. Why should bills for the raising of revenue originate in the 
House ? 

5. Make a list of the powers of the President as contained in the 
Constitution. 

6. What are the several executive departments ? What are their 
duties? Who are the members of the cabinet at the present time? 

7. Study the powers of the federal courts as given in the Constitu- 
tion. 

8. Make as complete a list as possible of the different checks and 
balances provided in the organization of the federal government. 

9. Report on the work accomplished in the Philippine Islands 
under the American government. Also in Porto Rico. 

10. Debate the question, ''The Philippine Islands should ultimately 
be granted their independence." 

11. Report on the importance of Alaska as a part of the United 
States. 

REFERENCES 

Beard, "American Citizenship,*' chapters VIII, XV. 

Haskin, "The American Government." The several chapters give 
popular descriptions of the work of the various branches and depart- 
ments of the federal government. 

Hart, "Actual Government," chapters XIII-XVII. 

Forman, "Advanced Civics," chapters XVI-XXI. 
-Bryce, "The American Commonwealth," vol. I, part I. 

Fiske, " The Critical Period of American History," chapters VI, VII 
(the framing and ratification of the Constitution). 

"The Territory of Alaska, General Information Regarding," Gov- 
ernment Printing Office. 

"The Philippine Islands," issued by the Bureau of Insular Aftairs, 
War Department. Government Printing Office. 

Report of the Philippine Commission, 1913. Government Printing 
Office. 

Register of Porto Rico for 191 1, and the Report of the Governor of 
Porto Rico, 1913. Government Printing Office. 



CHAPTER XXV 
HOW THE EXPENSES OF GOVERNMENT ARE MET 

All this machinen- of government, and all the work 
that it does for the people, costs the people a great deal. 
The thousands of citizens who are employed in conduct- 
ing the affairs of government must be paid for their 
services — although there are some offices to which no 
salaries are attached. There must be office buildings 
for the transaction of pubHc business, such as post offices, 
capitol buildings, and courthouses. Schoolhouses, parks, 
hospitals, and prisons must be paid for. Materials must 
be bought and workmen employed to build na^-ies, to 
construct roads and bridges, to pave streets and lay 
sewers, and to do the many other things that govern- 
ment does for us. Occasionally, some great emergency 
arises, like a war, which demands enormous sums of 
money. 

The cost of the national government each year is much 

more than the cost of all the state governments together ; 

, ^ but the cost of our local governments throughout 

The cost of ^ ^ 

govern- the country is, each year, more than that of 
^^^^ the national and state governments together. 

This may be surprising; but it is due to the costhness 
of pa\'ing streets, maintaining pohce and fire departments 
and the public schools, and of making the many improve- 
ments necessitated by the rapid growth of our cities. 
The immense cost of our governments is beyond our 
powers of imagination. It may be roughly stated as 

268 



THE EXPENSES OF GOVERNMENT 269 

about $2,000,000,000. It may help you to understand 
this enormous sum of money if you will calculate how long 
it would take a man to count it, supposing that he works 
constantly eight hours a day, and counts $ i every sec- 
ond, or $60 a minute. 

This great sum of money must be raised each year. 
The people of each local community — township, county, 
or city — must pay the expense of their local government; 
the people of the whole state unite in paying the expense 
of the state government; and the people of the nation 
contribute to the expenses of the national government. 
They do this chiefly by paying taxes. 

Taxes are a contribution that the people are required by 
the government to pay to meet the cost of the government. 
The people have never enjoyed paying taxes. The gov- 
ernment seems to put its hand into their pockets and 
take what belongs to them. Taxation has often seemed 
an act of oppression, and it may become so when it is im- 
posed on the people without their consent, and when it is for 
purposes other than their own welfare. Very jaxationis 
light taxes imposed on the American colonists notoppres- 
by the English government without their consent ^^*^^ 
seemed oppressive to them and led to the Revolution. 
Taxation by our government should not be an act of op- 
pression, because the people, being self-governing, are sup- 
posed to tax themselves ; and because, in the second place, 
the taxes are supposed to be spent for the benefit of the 
people themselves. It is only just that a person shall pay 
for what he gets. He has no more right to complain 
about paying for the protection and benefit that he receives 
from the government than he has to complain about pay- 
ing the carpenter for building his house — provided, of 
course, that the government performs efficiently and eco- 



2/0 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

nomically the work expected of it. It is true that taxation, 
even in our country at the present time, may sometimes be 
unwise, and may weigh unjustly upon some of the people 
for reasons that will be mentioned later in the chapter ; but 
as a rule, the amount that each person has to pay to the 
government in taxes is insignificant in proportion to the 
great benefit that he receives. 

The American colonies objected to taxation by the Eng- 
lish government because they had no voice in the matter. 
Each colony believed that it should have the right to levy 
its own taxes through its representatives in the 
seif-taxa- colonial legislature. After they had won their 
federS^^^^ independence they still objected to giving up 
govern- the right of self-taxation even to the central 
°^®^* government of the Confederation. When the 

Congress needed money, even to carry on the war for in- 
dependence, it could only ask the states for it, and had no 
power to demand it or to collect it. The taxing power rested 
with the state legislatures, composed of the representa- 
tives of the people. This lack of power on the part of 
the central government caused great confusion and distress 
both during and after the Revolution, because the states 
were jealous of each other, and their interests conflicted 
to such an extent that they could not always be depended 
on to provide the money necessary for the common in- 
terests of all. It soon became apparent that, if the new 
nation were to continue to exist, it would be necessary for 
the central government to have the power to tax/^r cej'tain 
purposes. This was one of the chief reasons for framing 
a new Constitution, creating a Congress which was to have 
power " to lay and collect taxes . . . to pay the debts a7td 
provide for tJie common defense and general zvelfare of the 
United States" (Art. I, sec. 3, clause i). But the Consti- 



THE EXPENSES OF GOVERNMENT 2/1 

tution was careful to provide that " all bills for raising 
revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives," 
which is the branch of Congress most closely representa- 
tive of the people (Art. I, sec. 7). For all other mat- 
ters not of national importance the taxing power rests 
with the representatives of the people in the state legis- 
latures and in the local legislative bodies, such as the city 
council and the board of county commissioners. 

Taxation may be direct or indirect. Direct taxes are 
those which are paid directly and finally by the person 
against whom the government assesses them, direct and 
A tax on land, or on household furniture, is indirect 
intended to be borne by the person who owns ^^'°^ 
the land or the furniture. Indirect taxes, on the other 
hand, may be transferred from one person to another. A 
tax on imported goods may be levied against the importer. 
But he adds the amount of the tax to the price of the 
goods when he sells them to dealers. The dealers, in turn, 
add the amount of the tax to the price which they receive 
from the people who buy the goods. When you buy silk 
that has been imported from France, you indirectly pay 
a small part of the tax that was originally assessed against 
the importer. A tax on houses and land, which is usually 
considered a direct tax, may become indirect if the owner 
rents his property ; for he may make the rent high enough 
to cover the tax, which thus falls on the renter. 

Almost all of the taxes levied and collected by the state 
and local governments are direct taxes, and con- j^j^g^.^ ^^xa- 
sist chiefly of taxes on property, which is divided tion by 
into real estate, consisting of land and buildings, and^iocai 
and personal property, including furniture, govern- 
jewelry, money, and other forms of movable 
property. In the payment of the tax on property it is 



2/2 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

intended that each taxpayer shall pay in proportion to the 
amount of his property. The man who owns twice as 
much property as another should pay twice as much tax. 
Anything else would be unjust. 

In order to know how much tax a citizen must pay, it is 

first of all necessary to know how much money will be 

needed to run the government for a year. This is 

nary esti- determined beforehand by the heads of the vari- 

mate of Q^g departments of the government, who make 

expenses , ^ , 

an estmiate of the amount of money needed. 
A man usually considers it good business management of 
his private affairs when he comes out at the end of the 
year with a surplus on hand, something saved above his 
expenses. Not so with the government. It is a sign of 
good business management of the affairs of government 
when the treasury is practically empty at the end of the 
year. That is to say, it is not considered good manage- 
ment to levy more taxes than are actually needed. A good 
government will make the burden of taxation just as light 
as possible, and yet cover all expenses so that there will be 
no deficit at the end of the year. • 

The second thing to be found out, in determining the 
amount of tax each citizen must pay, is the value of all the 
The assess- property in the community in which the tax is to 
ment ^g levied. This is called assessing the value of 

the property. The assessment is made by officers known 
as assessors, who are sometimes elected by the people and 
sometimes appointed. There is an assessor for each local 
division of the state, as for the county, or township, or city. 
The assessor and his assistants visit and inspect the prop- 
erty of each citizen in the district, question the owner, and 
assess a value on the property. The sum of the individual 
assessments makes the total assessment for the district; 



THE EXPENSES OF GOVERNMENT 273 

and the sum of the valuations of all the districts makes the 
valuation for the entire state. 

Knowing the amount of money to be expended by the 
government, and also the value of all the property in the 
community, it is now possible to find the rate of xhe rate of 
taxation — that is, the percentage of his prop- taxation 
erty that each citizen must pay. This is done by dividing 
the total expenditures for the year by the total assessment. 
Thus, if the necessary expenditures amount to ^100,000 
and the total assessment amounts to $10,000,000, the rate 
of taxation is found by dividing 100,000 by 10,000,000, 
which gives one hundredth, or one per cent. Each tax- 
payer, therefore, would have to pay one per cent of the 
assessed value of his property. A property owner in a 
city must pay a certain rate of tax toward the expenses of 
the city government, another rate toward the expenses 
of the state government. He pays his entire tax into the 
treasury of the city or of the county, where it is divided 
into the shares belonging to the city, the county, and the 
state. 

It is not easy to secure a perfectly just tax. In the first 
place, it is not easy to estimate the real worth of a man's 
property, even when it can all be seen. One EquaUza- 
man's property may be assessed too high, and tio^ 
another man's too low. In order to correct such inequali- 
ties there is often a board of equalization, before which 
complaints may be brought, and by which corrections are 
made. Sometimes the county commissioners act in this 
capacity. In the assessment of the state taxes also there 
may be great inequalities among the different counties, due 
to the varying accuracy of the different assessors. There 
is usually a state board of equalization to adjust these 
differences. 



274 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

Such inequalities in taxation as those just mentioned 
are unfortunate, but they are accidental and can usually be 
corrected. There are other inequalities due to 
tali^°^°m- dishonest and unpatriotic attempts on the part 
jury to of some citizens to avoid their fair share of 

mui^*^" taxation. It is not easy to avoid paying taxes 
on buildings and land, because these forms of 
property cannot be hidden ; but there are many forms of 
personal property that can easily be kept out of sight, and 
it is usually those who can best afford to pay who have the 
most of this kind of property. There seems to be a feel- 
ing among a great many people that it is justifiable to " get 
ahead of the government" by avoiding the taxes for which 
it asks. In reality the people who avoid paying their just 
taxes defraud, not the government, but their fellow-citizens 
and neighbors. In their attempt to get something for 
nothing, they shift the burden of taxation on others, who 
are, in many cases, less able to pay than they. The smaller 
the amount of property assessed throughout the commu- 
nity, the higher the rate of taxation that each citizen has 
to pay. Those who withhold their property from assess- 
ment not only shirk their responsibility, but also increase 
the burden of the other members of the community. 

State and local governments impose other forms of taxes 
than the general property tax. In some states there is a 
s eciai ^^^^' °^ capitation tax, which is a tax on the per- 
forms of son and not on the property. It varies from 
taxation ^^^ ^^ ^^^^ dollars. In some states there is an 
income tax, levied, not on the amount of property a man 
has, but on the income he receives. Some states have an 
inheritance tax, levied on property received by inheri- 
tance. There is a corporation tax, levied on corporations 
doins: business in the state. In addition to these forms 



THE EXPENSES OF GOVERNMENT 



275 



of taxation, there are revenues derived by state and lo- 
cal governments from various kinds of licenses, fees, and 
special assessments. Men who conduct certain Licenses 
kinds of business must pay the government of *^d fees 
state or locality a license fee, as in the case of peddlers, 
saloon keepers, and pawnbrokers. Such licenses are in- 
tended, usually, to restrict such businesses as well as to 
secure a revenue. In most cities a license fee must be 
paid on all vehicles, including bicycles. When sewers are 
laid or roads built, they are often paid for, in part at least, 
by special assessments against the property owners most 
directly benefited. Finally, there are fines collected in 
the courts, which are turned into the public revenues. 
These special taxes and fees are often devoted to special 
purposes, as when the license fees on vehicles are used to 
keep up the roads and pavements, or when saloon licenses 
are used for the benefit of the schools. 

Some kinds of property may be exempt from taxation ; 
that is, no tax is levied against them. For example, pub- 
He school buildings and property are exempt. 
Church property, the property of colleges, public 
hospitals, public buildings such as courthouses, charitable 
institutions, and other forms of property of a pubHc char- 
acter, used for the public benefit and not for profit, are 
exempt from taxation. 

While the state and local governments derive most of 
their revenues from direct taxation, the national gov- 
ernment derives most of its revenues from in- indirect tax- 
direct taxation. The Constitution permits Con- ationbythe 

, , , T 1 . ,. national 

gress to levy both direct and mdirect taxes. govern- 
Direct taxes have been levied by the national ™®°* 
government several times in our history, but they have 
been objected to in the past for two reasons. In the 



2/6 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

first place, the Constitution provides that direct taxes 
" shall be apportioned among the several states . . . 
according to their respective numbers." That is, if the 
national government should decide to levy a tax on land, 
it would first determine how much of a tax is needed al- 
together, and would then call on the states to pay their 
share in proportion to their population. A state having 
twice the population of another would also pay twice the 
tax of the other. In practice it has been found very diffi- 
cult to apportion a tax in this way, and do it justly. 
Another reason why the national government prefers to 
Direct fed- employ indirect, rather than direct, taxation is 
erai tazes because indirect taxes can be collected so much 
more easily than direct taxes, and without attracting the 
attention of the people so much. The people prefer local 
self-taxation, and might feel more antagonistic to a tax 
collector representing the far-away central authority. In 
191 3, however, the sixteenth amendment to the Constitu- 
tion became effective, which gives Congress power to levy 
a direct tax on incomes of corporations and private per- 
sons. Unmarried persons with an income of less than 
S3000, and married couples with an income of less than 
S4000, are exempt from this tax. 

The national government raises most of its money by 
means of import duties and excise taxes. Import duties. 
Imports and ^-^ already explained, are taxes on imported 
excises goods, paid at first by the importer, but finally 

by the people in all parts of the country w^ho use the goods. 
This form of taxation is very little felt by the people, and 
yet ver}" large sums of money are raised by means of it. 
The excise is a tax le\'ied on goods manufactured in this 
countr}\ This form of taxation was once very unpopular, 
because it seemed a restriction on the industry of the 



THE EXPExNSES OF GOVERNMENT 277 

country by the national government. The chief manu- 
factures taxed in this way are alcohoHc liquors and tobacco 
in its various forms. This tax also, though at first paid by 
the manufacturers, is distributed among the people who 
use the articles. 

For the collection of import duties all imported goods 
are required to pass through customs houses at important 
cities, mostly on the borders of the country, but Collection 
sometimes in the interior, where the goods are of duties 
inspected by customs officers and the taxis collected. For 
the collection of excise taxes the country is divided into 
internal revenue districts^ in each of which is a revenue 
collector with assistants, who visit distilleries, breweries, 
and tobacco factories to collect the tax. 

Additional revenue is obtained by the national govern- 
ment through the sale of public lands and the receipts of 
the postal service. 

In time of war, or to pay for great permanent improve- 
ments like the Panama Canal, or to meet a deficit in the 
treasury, it becomes necessary to borrow large Borrowing 
sums of money. Borrowing under such circum- money 
stances is justifiable for two reasons. First, because an 
increase in the taxes cannot be secured quickly enough to 
meet the emergency. In the second place, it is just that 
the expense of a great war or of a permanent improvement 
should be distributed over a considerable length of time, 
because future generations are affected by it as much as 
the present. The money is borrowed, therefore, and is 
paid back by taxation during a long period of years. The 
usual method of borrowing is by the sale of government 
bonds, which are bought by individuals and financial insti- 
tutions, and upon which the government pays interest. It 
is then necessary for the government to lay aside a fund 



2/8 THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITIZEN 

from its revenues during a period of years to pay off its 
indebtedness. 

There has never been, in the national finances, the same 
careful adjustment between receipts and expenditures that 
we now find, for example, in many of our city governments. 
The revenues are a more or less uncertain quantity, because 
it cannot be told in advance with accuracy what the im- 
ports will amount to, nor what the incomes of corporations 
and individuals will be. Unexpected deficits and surpluses 
appear in the treasury. Appropriations are often made 
recklesslv bv Congress, sometimes resulting in insufficient 
funds for important work, sometimes in extravagant ex- 
penditures for purposes of little general value. There is 
need for improvement in the business methods of the 
national government that will result at once in greater 
economy and greater efificiency. 

FOR INVESTIGATION 

1 . Tr}' to find out. from printed reports of the treasurer, what the 
annual expense of yaur city (or county or township) is. Make a list 
of some of the more important items of expense, such as salaries, build- 
ings, streets, etc. 

2. Find out what the rate of taxation is for your city ; for your 
county : for your state. 

3. How is the expense of the public schools met in your commu- 
nity ? 

4. Is there a tax on vehicles in your community? To what use is 
this money put? 

5. What kinds of business are conducted in your community under 
license? What is the amount of the saloon license? To w'hat use is 
the revenue from this source put? 

6. Obtain a tax list from the office of the assessor and note the 
items listed. 

7. How is the expense of constructing a sewer met in your com- 
munity? Of paving a street? 

8. Is there any limit to the amount of taxes that your city council 
(or county commissioners) may levy ? 



THE EXPENSES OF GOVERNMENT 279 

9. Does your city charter limit the amount that your city may 
borrow? Does the state constitution limit the amount that can be bor- 
rowed by the state? If so, why? 

10. To whom, and at what times, are the taxes paid in your com- 
munity ? 

11. Report on the practice of "log-roUing"' in Congress. What 
are its effects? 

12. What is meant by the " single tax"? What are the arguments 
for it? 

REFERENCES 

Hart, "Actual Government," chapters XXI-XXII. 
Forman, "Advanced Civics," chapters XXXV-XXXIX. 
Fiske, "Civil Government," chapter I. 
Wilcox, "The American City," chapters XH, XIH. 



APPENDIX 



THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF 
AMERICA 

Preamble 

We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect 
union, estabHsh justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the 
common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the bless- 
ings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish 
this Constitution for the United States of America. 

ARTICLE I 

Section I 

All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress 
of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of 
Representatives. 

Section II 

1. The House of Representatives shall be composed of members 
chosen every second year by the people of the several States, and the 
electors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors 
of the most numerous branch of the State legislature. 

2. No person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained 
to the age of twenty-five years, and been seven years a citizen of the 
United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of 
that State in which he shall be chosen. 

3. Representatives [and direct taxes] ^ shall be apportioned among the 
several States which may be included within this Union, according to 
their respective numbers, [which shall be determined by adding to the 
whole number of free persons, including those bound to service for a 
term of years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other 

1 Modified by Amendment XVI. 
V 281 



282 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 

persons.] ^ The actual enumeration shall be made within three years 
after the first meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within 
every subsequent term of ten years, in such manner as they shall by 
law direct. The number of Representatives shall not exceed one for 
every thirty thousand, but each State shall have at least one Represen- 
tative ; [and until such enumeration shall be made, the State of New 
Hampshire shall be entitled to choose three, Massachusetts eight, 
Rhode Island and Providence Plantations one, Connecticut five. New 
York six, New Jersey four. Pennsylvania eight. Delaware one. Mary- 
land six, Virginia ten. North Carolina five, South Carolina five, and 
Georgia three.] ^ 

4. When vacancies happen in the representation from any State, 
the executive authority thereof shall issue writs of election to fill such 
vacancies. 

5. The House of Representatives shaU choose their Speaker and 
other ofiicers, and shall have the sole power of impeachment. 

Section III 

1. [The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two 
Senators fi-om each State, chosen by the legislature thereof, for six 
years : and each Senator shall have one vote.]- 

2. Immediately after they shall be assembled in consequence of the 
first election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into three 
classes. The seats of the Senators of the first class shall be vacated 
at the expiration of the second year : of the second class, at the expira- 
tion of the fourth year, and of the third class, at the expiration of the 
sixth year, so that one third may be chosen even,- second year ; and if 
vacancies happen by resignation or otherwise during the recess of the 
legislature of any State, the executive thereof may make temporary aj> 
pointments until the next meeting of the legislature, which shall then 
fill such vacancies. 

3. No person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the 
age of thirty years, and been nine years a citizen of the United States, 
and v.-ho shall not. when elected, be an inhabitant of that State for 
which he shall be chosen. 

4. The Vice-President of the United States shall be President of the 
Senate, but shall have no vote, unless they be equally divided. 

5. The Senate shall choose their other officers, and also a President 

1 The clauses in brackets have been superseded by Amendments XIII and XIV. 

2 Superseded bv Amendment XVII. 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 283 

pro tempore in the absence of the Vice-President, or when he shall exer- 
cise the office of President of the United States. 

6. The Senate shall have the sole power to try all impeachments. 
When sitting for that purpose, they shall be on oath or affirmation. 
When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice 
shall preside: and no person shall be convicted without the concur- 
rence of two-thirds of the members present. 

7. Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend further than 
to removal from office, and disquahfication to hold and enjoy any office 
of honor, trust, or profit under the United States ; but the party con- 
victed shall, nevertheless, be liable and subject to indictment, trial, 
judgment, and punishment, according to law. 

Section IV 

1. The times, places, and manner of holding elections for Senators 
and Representatives shall be prescribed in each State by the legislature 
thereof; but the Congress may at any time by law make or alter such 
regulations, except as to the places of choosing Senators. 

2. The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and 
such meetings shall be on the first Monday in December, unless they 
shall by law appoint a different day. 

Section V 

1. Each house shall be the judge of the elections, returns, and 
qualifications of its own members, and a majority of each shall con- 
stitute a quorum XQ do business ; but a smaller number may adjourn 
from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the attendance of 
absent members, in such manner, and under such penalties, as each 
house may provide. 

2. Each house may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish its 
members for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two 
thirds, expel a member. 

3. Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and from time 
to time publish the same, excepting such parts as may in their judg- 
ment require secrecy, and the yeas and nays of the members of either 
house on any question shall, at the desire of one fifth of those present, 
be entered on the journal. 

4. Neither house, during the session of Congress, shall without the 
consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other 
place than that in which the two houses shall be sitting. 



284 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 

Section VI 

1. The Senators and Representatives shall receive a compensation 
for their services, to be ascertained by law and paid out of the Treasury 
of the United States. They shall, in all cases except treason, felony, 
and breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their atten- 
dance at the session of their respective houses, and in going to and 
returning from the same ; and for any speech or debate in either house 
they shall not be questioned in any other place. 

2. No Senator or Representative shall, during the time for which 
he was elected, be appointed to any civil office under the authority of 
the United States, which shall have been created, or the emoluments 
whereof shall have been increased during such time ; and no person 
holding any office under the United States shall be a member of 
either house during his continuance in office. 

Section VII 

1. All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of Repre- 
sentatives : but the Senate may propose or concur with amendments as 
on other bills. 

2. Ever}- bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives 
and the Senate shall, before it become a law, be presented to the Presi- 
dent of the United States ; if he approve he shall sign it, but if not he 
shall return it, with his objections, to that house in which it shall have 
originated, who shall enter the objections at large on their journal and 
proceed to reconsider it. If after such reconsideration two thirds of 
that house shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent, together with 
the objections, to the other house, by which it shall likewise be recon- 
sidered, and if approved by two thirds of that house it shall become a 
law. But in all such cases the votes of both houses shall be determined 
by yeas and nays, and the names of the persons voting for and against 
the bill shall be entered on the journal of each house respectively. If 
any bill shall not be returned by the President within ten days (Sundays 
excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the same shall 
be a law, in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress 
by their adjournment prevent its return, in which case it shall not 
be a law. 

3. Ever}' order, resolution, or vote to which the concurrence of the 
Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary (except on a 
question of adjournment) shall be presented to the President of the 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 285 

United States; and before the same shall take eflfect, shall be approved 
by him, or being disapproved by him, shall be repassed by two thirds of 
the Senate and House of Representatives, according to the rules and 
limitations prescribed in the case of a bill. 

Section VIII 

The Congress shall have power : 

1. To lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises, to pay the 
debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the 
United States; but all duties, imposts, and excises shall be uniform 
throughout the United States ; 

2. To borrow money on the credit of the United States ; 

3. To regulate commerce with foreign nations and among the several 
States, and with the Indian tribes ; 

4. To establish an uniform rule of naturalization, and uniform laws 
on the subject of bankruptcies throughout the United States ; 

5. To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, 
and fix the standard of weights and measures ; 

6. To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the securities and 
current coin of the United States ; 

7. To establish post-offices and post-roads ; 

8. To promote the progress of science and useful arts by securing for 
limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their re- 
spective writings and discoveries ; 

9. To constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court; 

10. To define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high 
seas and offenses against the law of nations ; 

11. To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make 
rules concerning captures on land and water ; 

12. To raise and support armies, but no appropriation of money to 
that use shall be for a longer term than two years ; 

13. To provide and maintain a navy ; 

14. To make rules for the government and regulation of the land and 

naval forces ; , 1 r ^1 

15. To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws ot tne 
Union, suppress insurrections, and repel invasions ; 

16. To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the militia, 
and for governing such part of them as may be employed in the service 
of the United States, reserving to the States respectively the appoint- 



286 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 

ment of the officers, and the authority of iraining the militia according 
to the disciphne prescribed by Congress ; 

17. To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever over 
such district (not exceeding ten miles square) as may. by cession of 
particular States and the acceptance of Congress, become the seat of 
Government of the United States, and to exercise like authority over 
all places purchased by the consent of the legislature of the State in 
which the same shall be, for the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, 
dockyards, and other needful buildings : and 

18. To make all laws which shaU be necessan.- and proper for carr\-- 
ing into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested 
by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any 
department or officer thereof. 

Section IX 

1 . [The migration or importation of such persons as any of the States 
now existing shall think proper to admit shall not be prohibited by the 
Congress prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but 
a tax or duty may be imposed on such importation, not exceeding ten 
dollars for each person.] ^ 

2. The privilege of the vrrit of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, 
unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may 
require it. 

3. No bill of attainder or ex post facto law shall be passed. 

4. No capitation [or other direct] - tax shall be laid, unless in pro- 
portion to the census or enumeration herein before directed to be taken. 

5. No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from any State. 

6. No preference shall be given by any regulation of commerce or 
revenue to the ports of one State over those of another ; nor shall 
vessels bound to or from one State be obliged to enter, clear, or pay 
duties in another. 

7. No money shaU be drawn from the Treasury- but in consequence 
of appropriations made by law : and a regular statement and account 
of the receipts and expenditures of all public money shaU be published 
from time to time. 

8 . No title of nobility shaU be granted by the United States ; and 
no person holding any office of profit or trust under them shaU, without 
the consent of 'the Congress, accept of any present, emolument, office, 
or title, of any kind whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign State. 

1 A temporary clause no longer in force. 2 Modified by Amendment X\'I, 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 287 

Section X 

1. No State shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or confederation; 
grant letters of marque and reprisal ; coin money ; emit bills of credit ; 
make anything but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts ; 
pass any bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law impairing the obliga- 
tion of contracts, or grant any title of nobility. 

2. No State shall, without the consent of the Congress, lay any im- 
posts or duties on imports or exports, except what may be absolutely 
necessary for executing its inspection laws ; and the net produce of all 
duties and imposts, laid by any State on imports or exports, shall be 
for the use of the Treasury of the United States ; and all such laws 
shall be subject to the revision and control of the Congress. 

3. No State shall, without the consent of the Congress, lay any duty 
of tonnage, keep troops or ships of war in time of peace, enter into any 
agreement or compact with another State or with a foreign power, or 
engage in war, unless actually invaded or in such imminent danger as 
will not admit of delay. 

ARTICLE II 

Section I 

1. The executive power shall be vested in a President of the United 
States of America. He shall hold his office during the term of four 
years, and together with the Vice-President, chosen for the same term, 
be elected as follows : 

2. Each State shall appoint, in such manner as the legislature thereof 
may direct, a number of electors, equal to the whole number of Senators 
and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress ; 
but no Senator or Representative, or person holding an office of trust 
or profit under the United States, shall be appointed an elector. 

3. [The electors shall meet in their respective States and vote by 
ballot for two persons, of whom one at least shall not be an inhabitant 
of the same State with themselves. And they shall make a list of all 
the persons voted for, and of the number of votes for each ; which list 
they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the govern- 
ment of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate. 
The President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and 
House of Representatives, open all the certificates, and the votes shall 
then be counted. The person having the greatest number of votes 
shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole 



288 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 

number of electors appointed; and if there be more than one who 
have such majority, and have an equal number of votes, then the House 
of Representatives shall immediately choose by ballot one of them for 
President ; and if no person have a majority, then from the five highest 
on the list the said House shall in like manner choose the President. 
But in choosing the President the votes shall be taken by States, the 
representation from each State having one vote ; a quorum for this pur- 
pose shall consist of a member or members from two thirds of the 
States, and a majority of all the States shall be necessary to a. choice. 
In every case, after the choice of the President, the person having the 
greatest number of votes of the electors shall be the Vice-President. 
But if there should remain two or more who have equal votes, the 
Senate shall choose from them by ballot the Vice-President.] ^ 

4. The Congress may determine the time of choosing the electors 
and the day on which they shall give their votes, which day shall be 
the same throughout the United States. 

5. No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United 
States at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible 
to the office of President ; neither shall any person be eligible to that 
office who shall not have attained to the age of thirty-five years, and 
been fourteen years a resident within the United States. 

6. In case of the removal of the President from office, or of his 
death, resignation, or inability to discharge the powers and duties of 
the said office, the same shall devolve on the Vice-President, and the 
Congress may by law provide for the case of removal, death, resigna- 
tion, or inability, both of the President and Vice-President, declaring 
what officer shall then act as President, and such officer shall act ac- 
cordingly until the disabihty be removed or a President shall be elected. 

7. The President shall, at stated times, receive for his services a 
compensation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during 
the period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not 
receive within that period any other emolument from the United States 
or any of them. 

8. Before he enter on the execution of his office he shall take the 
following oath or affirmation : 

" I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office 
of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability 
preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States." 

1 Superseded by Amendment XII. 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 289 

Section II 

1. The President shall be Commander-in-chief of the Army and 
Navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several States 
when called into the actual service of the United States; he may 
require the opinion, in writing, of the principal officer in each of the 
executive departments, upon any subject relating to the duties of their 
respective offices, and he shall have power to grant reprieves and 
pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of 
impeachment. 

2. He shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the 
Senate, to make treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present 
concur ; and he shall nominate, and, by and with the advice and consent 
of the Senate, shall appoint ambassadors, other public ministers and 
consuls, judges of the Supreme Court, and all other officers of the 
United States, whose appointments are not herein otherwise provided 
for, and which shall be established by law ; but the Congress may by 
law vest the appointment of such inferior officers, as they think proper, 
in the President alone, in the courts of law, or in the heads of depart- 
ments. 

3. The President shall have power to fill up all vacancies that may 
happen during the recess of the Senate, by granting commissions 
which shall expire at the end of their next session. 

Section III 

He shall from time to time give to the Congress information of the 
state of the Union, and recommend to their consideration such measures 
as he shall judge necessary and expedient ; he may, on extraordinary 
occasions, convene both houses, or either of them, and in case of dis- 
agreement between them with respect to the time of adjournment, he 
may adjourn them to such time as he shall think proper ; he shall re- 
ceive ambassadors and other public ministers ; he shall take care that 
the laws be faithfully executed, and shall commission all the officers of 
the United States. 

Section IV 

The President, Vice-President and all civil officers of the United 
States shall be removed from office on impeachment for and conviction 
of treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors. 



290 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 

ARTICLE III 
Section I 

The judicial power of the United States shall be vested in one Su- 
preme Court, and in such inferior courts as the Congress may from time 
to time ordain and establish. The judges, both of the supreme and 
inferior courts, shall hold their offices during good beha^-ior. and shall, 
at stated times, receive for their sendees a compensation which shall 
not be diminished during their continuance in office. 

Section II 

1. The judicial power shall extend to all cases, in law and equity, 
arising under this Constitution, the laws of the United States,, and 
treaties made, or which shall be made, under their authorit}' ; to all 
cases affecting ambassadors, other pubHc ministers, and consuls ; to 
all cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction; to controversies to 
which the United States shall be a party ; to controversies between two 
or more States ; between a State and citizens of another State ; be- 
tween citizens of different States ; between citizens of the same State 
claiming lands under grants of different States, and between a State, 
or the citizens thereof, and foreign States, citizens, or subjects. 

2. In all cases, affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and 
consuls, and those in which -a State shall be party, the Supreme Court 
shall have original jurisdiction. In aU the other cases before mentioned, 
the Supreme Court shall have appellate jurisdiction, both as to law and 
fact, with such exceptions and under such regulations as the Congress 
shaU make. 

3. The trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeachment, shall be 
by jur}- : and such trial shaU be held in the State where the said crimes 
shall have been committed : but when not committed within any State, 
the trial shall be at such place or places as the Congress may by law 
have directed. 

Section III 

1. Treason against the United States shall consist only in le^-ying war 
against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and com- 
fort. No person shall be con\ncted of treason unless on the testimony 
of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court. 

2. The Congress shall have power to declare the punishment of 
treason, but no attainder of treason shall work corruption of blood or 
forfeiture except during the life of the person attained. 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 291 

ARTICLE IV 

Section I 

Full faith and credit shall be given in each State to the public acts, 
records, and judicial proceedings of every other State. And the Con- 
gress may by general laws prescribe the manner in which such acts, 
records, and proceedings shall be proved, and the effect thereof. 

Section II 

1. The citizens of each State shall be entitled to all privileges and 
immunities of citizens in the several States. 

2. A person charged in any State with treason, felony, or other 
crime, who shall flee from justice, and be found in another State, shall, 
on demand of the executive authority of the State from which he fled, 
be delivered up, to be removed to the State having jurisdiction of the 
crime. 

3. [No person held to service or labor in one State, under the laws 
thereof, escaping into another, shall, in consequence of any law or reg- 
ulation therein, be discharged from such service or labor, but shall be 
delivered up on claim of the party to whom such service or labor may 
be due.] ^ 

Section III 

1. New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union ; 
but no new State shall be formed or erected within the jurisdiction of 
any other State ; nor any State be formed by the junction of two or 
more States or parts of States, without the consent of the legislatures 
of the States concerned as well as of the Congress. 

2. The Congress shall have power to dispose of and make all need- 
ful rules and regulations respecting the territory or other property be- 
longing to the United States ; and nothing in this Constitution shall 
be so construed as to prejudice any claims of the United States or of 
any particular State. 

Section IV 
The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a 
republican form of government, and shall protect each of them against 
invasion, and on application of the legislature, or of the executive (when 
the legislature cannot be convened), against domestic violence. 

1 Superseded by Amendment XIII. 



292 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 

ARTICLE V 

The Congress, whenever two thirds of both houses shall deem it 
necessary, shall propose amendments to this Constitution, or, on the 
application of the legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall 
call a convention for proposing amendments, which in either case shall 
be vaKd to all intents and purposes as part of this Constitution, when 
ratified by the legislatures of three fourths of the several States, 
or by conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other 
mode of ratification may be proposed by the Congress, provided 
that [no amendment which may be made prior to the year one thou- 
sand eight hundred and eight shall in any manner affect the first and 
fourth clauses in the ninth section of the first article ; and that] i no 
State, without its consent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the 
Senate. 

ARTICLE VI 

1. All debts contracted and engagements entered into,, before the 
adoption of this Constitution, shall be as valid against the United 
States under this Constitution as under the Confederation. 

2. This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall 
be made in pursuance thereof, and all treaties made, or which shall be 
made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme 
law of the land ; and the judges in every State s'hall be bound thereby, 
anything in the Constitution or laws of any State to the contrary not- 
withstanding. 

3. The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the 
members of the several State legislatures, and all executive and judicial 
officers both of the United States and of the several States, shall be 
bound by oath or affirmation to support this Constitution ; but no reli- 
gious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public 
trust under the United States. 

ARTICLE VH 
The ratification of the conventions of nine States shall be sufficient 

for the establishment of this Constitution between the States so ratify- 
ing the same. 

Done in convention by the unanimous consent of the States present, 
the seventeenth day of September, in the year of our Lord one 

1 Temporary in its nature. 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 293 

thousand seven hundred and eighty-seven, and of the Independ- 
ence of the United States of America the twelfth. In witness 
whereof, we have hereunto subscribed our names. 
George Washington, President, and Deputy from Virginia. 
New Hampshire — John Langdon, Nicholas Gilman. 
Massachusetts — Nathaniel Gorham, Rufus King. 
Connecticut — William Samuel Johnson, Roger Sherman. 
New York — Alexander Hamilton. 
New Jersey — William Livingston, David Brearley, William Paterson, 

Jonathan Dayton. 
Pennsylvania — Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Mifflin, Robert Morris, 

George Clymer, Thomas Fitzsimons, Jared Ingersoll, James Wilson, 

Gouverneur Morris. 
Delaware — George Read, Gunning Bedford, Jr., John Dickinson, 

Richard Bassett, Jacob Broom. 
Maryland — James McHenry, Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer, Daniel 

Carroll. 
Virginia — John Blair, James Madison, Jr. 
North Carolina — William Blount, Richard Dobbs Spaight, Hugh 

Williamson. 
South Carolina — John Rutledge, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, 

Charles Pinckney, Pierce Butler. 
Georgia — William Few, Abraham Baldwin. 

Attest : William Jackson, Secretary, 

ARTICLES 
in addition to and amendment of the Constitution of the United 
States of America, proposed by Congress and ratified by the Legisla- 
tures of the several States, pursuant to the Fifth Article of the Consti- 
tution. 

ARTICLE I 
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, 
or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of 
speech or of the press ; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, 
and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. 

ARTICLE II 
A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free 
State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be 
infringed. 



294 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 

ARTICLE III 

No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house without 
the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be 
prescribed by law. 

ARTICLE IV 

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, 
and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be vio- 
lated, and no warrants shall issue but upon probable cause, supported 
by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be 
searched and the persons or things to be seized. 

ARTICLE V 

No persons shall be held to answer for a capital or other^vise infa- 
mous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, ex- 
cept in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when 
in actual service in time of war or public danger ; nor shall any person 
be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of hfe or 
limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness 
against himself, nor be deprived of life, hberty or property, without due 
process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use with- 
out just compensation. 

ARTICLE VI 

In all criminal prosecutions the accused shall enjoy the right to a 
speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district 
wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have 
been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature 
and cause of the accusation ; to be confronted with the witnesses against 
him, to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, 
and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense. 

ARTICLE VII 
In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed 
twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact 
tried by a jury shall be otherwise re-examined in any court of the United 
States, than according to the rules of the common law. 

ARTICLE VIII 
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor 
cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 295 

ARTICLE IX 
The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be 
construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. 

ARTICLE X 
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, 
nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively 
or to the people. 

ARTICLE XI 
The judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to 
extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against 
one of the United States by citizens of another State, or by citizens or 
subjects of any foreign State. 

ARTICLE XII 
I. The electors shall meet in their respective States and vote by 
ballot for President and Vice-President, one of whom, at least, shall 
not be an inhabitant of the same State with themselves ; they shall 
name in their ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct 
ballots the person voted for as Vice-President, and they shall make 
distinct lists of all persons voted for as President and of all persons 
voted for as Vice-President, and of the number of votes for each ; which 
lists they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the 
government of the United States, directed to the President of the 
Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in presence of the Senate 
and House of Representatives, open all the certificates and the votes 
shall then be counted. The person having the greatest number of 
votes for President shall be the President, if such number be a majority 
of the whole number of electors appointed ; and if no person have such 
majority, then from the persons having the highest numbers not exceed- 
ing three on the list of those voted for as President, the House of Rep- 
resentatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President. But 
in choosing the President the votes shall be taken by States, the rep- 
resentation from each State having one vote ; a quorum for this purpose 
shall consist of a member or members from two thirds of the States, 
and a majority of all the States shall be necessary to a choice. And 
if the House of Representatives shall not choose a President whenever 
the right of choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth day of 
March next following, then the Vice-President shall act as President, 



296 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 

as in the case of the death or other constitutional disability of the 
President. 

2. The person having the greatest number of votes as Vice-President 
shall be the Vice-President if such number be a majorit\- of the whole 
number of electors appointed ; and if no person have a majority, then 
from the two highest numbers on the list the Senate shall choose the 
Vice-President ; a quorum for the purpose shall consist of two thirds of 
the whole number of Senators, and a majority of the whole number shall 
be necessary to a choice. But no person constitutionally ineligible to 
the office of President shall be ehgible to that of Vice-President of the 
United States. 

ARTICLE XIII 

Section i. Neither slaven,- nor involuntary servitude, except as a 
punishment for crime whereof the part}' shall have been duly convicted, 
shall exist within the United States or any place subject to their 
jurisdiction. 

Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by 
appropriate legislation. 

ARTICLE XIV 

Section i . All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and 
subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and 
of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any 
law which shall abridge the pri^dleges or immunities of citizens of the 
United States ; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, 
or property, without due process of law ; nor deny to any person within 
its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. 

Section 2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several 
States according to their respective numbers, coimting the whole num- 
ber of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when 
the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President 
and Vice-President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, 
the executive and judicial officers of a State, or the members of the 
legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such 
State, being twenty-one years of age. and citizens of the United States, 
or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other 
crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the pro- 
portion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole 
number of male dtizehs twenty-one years of age in such State. 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 297 

Section 3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Con- 
gress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil 
or military, under the United States or under any State, who, having 
previously taken an oath as a member of Congress, or as an officer of 
the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an 
executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution 
of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion 
against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But 
Congress may, by a vote of two thirds of each house, remove such dis- 
ability. 

Section 4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, 
authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and 
bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not 
be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall as- 
sume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or 
rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or eman- 
cipation of any slave ; but all such debts, obligations, and claims shall 
be held illegal and void. 

Section 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appro- 
priate legislation, the provisions of this article. 

ARTICLE XV 

Section i. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall 
not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on 
account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. 

Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article 
by appropriate legislation. 

ARTICLE XVI 

The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, 
from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several 
States, and without regard to any census or enumeration. 

ARTICLE XVII 

The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators 
from each State, elected by the people thereof, for six years ; and each 
Senator shall have one vote. The electors in each State shall have the 



298 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 

qualifications required for electors of the most numerous branch of the 
State legislature. 

When vacancies happen in the representation of any State in the 
Senate, the executive authority of the State shall issue writs of election 
to fill such vacancies : Provided. That the legislature of any State may 
empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments until 
the people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature may direct. 

This amendment shall not be so construed as to aftect the election 
or term of any Senator chosen before it becomes valid as part of the 
Constitution. 



APPENDIX 



299 



OWNERSHIP OF HOMES IN CITIES HAVING, IN 1910, 
100,000 INHABITANTS OR MORE 



Cities 



Albany, N. Y. 
Atlanta, Ga. 



Birmingham, Ala. 

Boston, Mass. . . 

Bridgeport, Conn. 

Buffalo, N. Y. . . 

Cambridge, Mass. 

Chicago, 111. . . 

Cincinnati, Ohio . 

Cleveland, Ohio 

Columbus, Ohio . 

Dayton, Ohio . . 

Denver, Col. . . 

Detroit, Mich. 

Fall River, Mass. . 

Grand Rapids, Mich. 

Indianapolis, Ind. 

Jersey City, N. J. 

Kansas City, Mo. . 

Los Angeles, Cal. . 

Louisville, Ky. . . 

Lowell, Mass. . . 

Memphis, Tenn. . 

Milwaukee, Wis. . 

Minneapolis, Minn. 

Nashville, Tenn. . , 

New Haven, Conn. , 

New Orleans, La. 

New York, N. Y. . , 
Manhattan Borough 
Bronx Borough 



Owned 



6,338 

8,580 
38,400 

8,910 
23,496 

4,671 
30,592 

4,282 

121,447 
19.965 

43473 
14,862 
10,596 

17774 
40,471 

4,317 
12,599 
19,036 
11,209 
20,711 

34,159 

13,603 

4,848 

7,541 
28,824 

24,539 
7,879 
7,326 

16,273 
117,740 

14,103 
12,071 



Rented 



17,189 
26,213 
75.381 
21,115 
114,312 
16,504 

58,745 
18,378 
342,472 
66,153 
80,005 
26,787 
17,244 
31,342 
57,831 
19,926 
13,690 
38,702 

44,394 
36,537 
42,202 
37,621 
16,761 
22,363 
50,352 

36,195 
17,868 

21,394 

54,113 

884,616 

468,g27 
80,114 



Per cent Owned 



26.9 
24.7 

33-7 
29.7 
17. 1 
22.1 
34.2 
18.9 
26.2 
23.2 
55-2 
35-7 
38.1 
36.2 
41.2 
17.8 

47-9 
33-0 
20.2 
36.2 

44-7 
26.6 
22.4 
25.2 

36.4 
40.4 
30.6 
25.5 
23.1 
11.7 
2.9 
1 3-1 



300 



APPENDIX 



OWNERSHIP OF HOMES IN CITIES HAVING. IN 1910, 
100,000 INHABITANTS OR ^lO^Y.— Continued 



Cities 


Owned 


Rented 


Per cent Owned 


New York. N.Y.- 
Brooklyn Boroi 
Queens Boroiig 
Richmond Bon 

Newark, N. J. . 

Oakland, Cal. . 

Omaha, Neb. 

Paterson. N. J. 

PhHadelphia, Pa. 

Pittsburgh. Pa. 

Portland, Ore. . 

Pro\-idence, R. I. 

Richmond, Va. 

Rochester, N. Y. 

St. Louis, Mo. . 

St. Paul, :\Iinn. 

San Francisco. Cal 

Scranton. Pa. . 

Seattle, Wash. . 

Spokane. Wash. 

Syracuse. N. Y. 

Toledo, Ohio . 

Washington. D. C 

Worcester, Mass. 


-Cc 
igh 
h 
nig 


rnti 


nuea 


1 

63,842 
21,176 

6,548 
I5.II9 
16,870 
10,095 

6,538 
83,262 
29.983 
18,509 
10,071 

6,255 
19.321 
37.761 
16,665 
27.500 

9.7II 
22,167 
11,165 
12,202 
17,170 
17.375 

7-431 


284,739 
40,020 
10,816 

60,473 
19.263 
15,269 
20,714 
229,354 
77,288 

21.495 
38,276 
19,801 
26,525 

113,515 
23,826 

55,946 
16,116 

27,245 
10,610 

18,547 
21,609 

51.607 
23.057 


18.3 

34-6 

37-7 
20.0 
46.7 

39.8 

24.0 
26.6 
28.0 

46.3 
20.8 
24.0 
42.1 
25.0 
41.2 
33-0 
37.6 
449 
51-3 
39-7 
44-3 
25.2 
24.4. 



IMMIGRATION BY DECADES. 1821 TO 1913 



1821 to 1830 . . 


• . 143,439 


1871 to 1880 . . . 


2.812,191 


1831 to 1840 . . 


• • 599,125 


1881 to 1890 . . . 


5,246.613 


1841 to 1850 . . 


• • 1.713-251 


1891 to 1900 . . . 


3,687,564 


1851 to i860 . . 


. .2.598.214 


1901 to 1910 . . . 


8.795,386 


1861 to 1870 . . 


• • 2,314.824 


191 1 to 1913 (3 years) 


3,090,912 



APPENDIX 



301 



IMMIGRATION AND EMIGRATION FOR THE YEAR 
ENDING JUNE 30, 1913 



Countries 



Austria 

Hungary 

Belgium 

Bulgaria, Servia, and Montenegro . . 

Denmark 

France, including Corsica 

German Empire 

Greece 

Italy, including Sicily and Sardinia . 

Netherlands 

Norway 

Portugal, including Cape Verde and 
Azores Islands ........ 

Roumania 

Russian Empire and Finland . . 
Spain, including Canary and Balearic 

Islands 

Sweden . . . . 

Switzerland 

Turkey in Europe 

United Kingdom : 

England 

Ireland . 

Scotland ......... 

Wales 

Other Europe 

Total Europe . . . . . . 

China 

Japan 

India 

Turkey in Asia 

Other Asia 

Total Asia 



Immigrant Aliens 
A dmitted 



161,525 

133,236 

8,043 

1,988 

7,016 

I0074 

24,270 

311-393 

7A7^ 

9,525 

16,204 

2,502 

340,461 

7,610 
18,872 

4,361 
15,093 

48,016 

30,829 

16,105 

3'- 1 78 

411 



1,216,251 



2,338 
9,251 

193 

27,187 

1,051 



40,020 



Emigrant Aliens 
Departed 



32,691 
903 

9739 
649 

3,905 

5,294 

31,017 

91,696 

640 

1,854 

2,083 

345 
30,489 

2,316 

2,316 

507 

4,992 

6,582 

3,322 

2,379 

177 

16 



265,149 



2,426 
778 
240 

1,404 
107 



4,955 



302 



APPENDIX 



IMMIGRATION AND EMIGRATION FOR THE YEAR 
ENDING JUNE 30. 1913 — Co?itmued 



C::rr. 


zrits 




Immigrant Aliens 

Ad?ni:tcd 


Emigrant A'.icis 
Departed 


Africa 

Australia. Tasmania, and New 
Pacific islands (not specified) 
British x^orth Amerif^^ 


Zealand 


1-539 
1.3S4 

125 

8 1,002 

1,674 

12.994 

4.828 

14.312 

24 


220 

704 

29 

5^-433 


Central America 






Mexico .... 
South America 


. . . . 


. . . 


1,051 
1472 

I r 


We'^t Indies 












Grand total 


1.-374,153 


331,120 









IMMIGRATION AND EMIGRATION BY STATES FOR 
YEAR ENDING TUNE 30. 1913 



States 



Alabama . . . . 

Alaska 

Arizona . . . . 
Arkansas . . . . 
California . . . . 
Colorado . . . . 
Connecticut . . . 
Delaware . . . . 
District of Columbia 

Florida 

Georgia . . . . 
Hawaii . . . . 

Idaho 

lUinois 



Inimi([rafit Aliens 


Emigrafit Aliens 


A.djnittid 


Departed 


1.266 


401 


829 


107 


4.227 


648 


408 


61 


35-235 


8,568 


6.443 


1742 


40.934 


6,796 


2,208 


260 


1,882 


3S8 


5,758 


2,746 


852 


I7T 


7,719 


1-3 


1.887 


409 


123.936 


-^l-m 



APPENDIX 



303 



IMMIGRATION AND EMIGRATION BY STATES FOR 
YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, i^i-^ — Coiitimied 



States 



Indiana . . . . 

Iowa 

Kansas . . . . 
Kentucky . 

Louisiana . . . 

Maine . . . . 

Maryland . . . 
Massachusetts 

Michigan . . , 

Minnesota . . . 

Mississippi . . 

Missouri . . . 

Montana . . , 

Nebraska . . . 

Nevada . . . . 

New Hampshire . 

New Jersey . . 

New Mexico . , 
New York . . 

North Carolina . 
North Dakota 

Ohio . . . . 

Oklahoma . . . 

Oregon . . . . 

Pennsylvania . . 
Philippine Islands 

Porto Rico . . 

Rhode Island . . 

South Carolina . 

South Dakota . . 

Tennessee . . . 

Texas . . . . 

Utah . . . . 



Im m igra nt A lie n s 


Emigrant Aliens 


Admitted 


Departed 


15,099 


4,055 


9.524 


1,464 


4,034 


633 


818 


187 


1,912 


490 


7^361 


734 


9432 


1,238 


1 15773 


18,356 


68,997 


8,045 


21,762 


3,066 


443 


50 


13,002 


3-587 


6,558 


990 


7,016 


739 


1,082 


418 


8,922 


1,732 


70,152 


13,378 


830 


277 


376,011 


88,937 


450 


83 


4,853 


240 


72,902 


13,985 


1,121 


247 


5,590 


1,422 


215,375 


47,389 


17 


2 


984 


883 


15470 


2,762 


286 


55 


1,818 


210 


887 


143 


12,240 


901 


3^63 


1,384 



304 



APPENDIX 



LMMIGRATION AND EMIGRATION BY STATES FOR 
YEAR ENDING JUNE 30. i^i^— Continued 



States 

Vermont .... 
Virginia .... 
Washington . 
West Virginia . . 
Wisconsin .... 
Wyoming .... 
Unknown .... 

Total . . . 



Im77iigra7it Aliens Emigrant Aliens 
A dm itted Depa rted 



4.064 


580 


2,006 


438 


20,460 


2.967 


12,037 


3,668 


26,646 


4,241 


1,272 


529 




52,059 


1,374.153 


331,120 



INDEX 



Accident, protection against, 32; 
injury by, 79. 

Accidents, prevention of, 78-80; 
industrial, 80. 

Administrative departments, of cities, 
233, 234; of the state, 246, 
247 ; of the national government, 
259-261. 

Administrative duties of local gov- 
ernments, 185, 226. 

Advertisements, 162. 

Agriculture, Department of, 104, 128, 
260. 

Alaska, 49, 263, 264. 

Aliens, 43, 189. 

Amendment, of state constitutions, 
242 ; of United States Constitu- 
tion, 253 ; of Articles of Confedera- 
tion, 252. 

American Museum of Safety, 79. 

Americans, making of, 36-45. 

Andre, 18. 

Appointment of ofificers, 198, 210, 
211, 226, 235; of federal judges, 
262 ; governor's power of, 247, 
249; President's power of, 257, 
258. 

Apportionment, 254. 

Arbor Day, 162. 

Architecture, 165. 

Arizona, 264. 

Army, 81, 82; health work of, 67. 

Art, 154. 

Articles of Confederation, 252, 256. 

Assemblage, freedom of, 147, 148. 

Assessment, 272. 

Assessments, special, 275. 

Assessors, 272. 



Assimilation of immigration, 42. 

Asylums, 174. 

Attorney General, state, 247 ; United 

States, 259. 
Auditor, state, 246. 
Australian ballot, 206. 

Ballot, short, 203 ; Australian, 206 ; 
secrecy of the, 206 ; scratching, 

193- 

Banking system, national, loi. 

Banks, savings, 127; postal savings, 
126. 

Beauty, desire for, 17; in the pioneer 
home, 24; what the community 
does for, 152-166. 

Berkeley, Governor, 135. 

Bill, legislative, 244; of rights, 243. 

Billboards, 162. 

Bird life, protection of, 131. 

Bonds, government, 277. 

Borrowing money, 277. 

Boss, political, 205, 245. 

Boston, 10, 107, 118, 163. 

Boulevards, 163. 

Builders of the nation, 93. 

Building, ordinances, 74; depart- 
ment, 234. 

Buildings, construction of, 73. 

Bureaus of municipal research, 212. 

Business life, 88-96; regulation of, 
77, 78, 98-104; waste in, 124. 

By-laws, 218. 

By-products, 124. 

Cabinet, 247, 257, 259-261. 
California, 225, 226, 231. 
Campaign, election, 194. 



305 



3o6 



INDEX 



Canals. 112, 113. 

Capitation tax {see Poll Tax). 

Caucus, 192. 

Census bureau, 261. 

Charity, 175, 176; organization, 176. 

Charter, cit}-, 185, 230, 231 ; colonial, 
242. 

Checks and balances, 1S7, 243, 

Chemistry, bureau of, 104. 

Chicago, 12, 60, 65, 7s, 74, 118, 132. 

Child labor, 2,3^ 99- 

Children, as citizens, 43. 

Children's bureau, 261. 

Chinese, exclusion of, 41. 

Church, the, 19, 169, 170, 171, 175. 

Cincinnati, 73. 

Circuit courts, 248. 

Cities, geographical conditions of 
growth, 10; home life in, 30, 31; 
foreigners in, 38, 42 ; subdi^-isions 
of, 51 ; exercise right of eminent 
domain, 53 ; health in, 59, 60, 63- 
65 ; fire protection in, 72, 73 ; 
pohce in, 76 ; street Kghting in, 77 ; 
transportation in, 11 5-1 18; edu- 
cation in, 144, 145; beaut)^ in, 
155-166; charit}- in, 174-176; 
primarj^ districts of, 192; merit 
sj-stem in, 211, 236; growth of, 
229; problems of, 229; self-gov- 
ernment of, 230; relation of, to 
the state, 230; government of, 
229-240. 

Citizens, naturalized, 42. 

Citizenship, 9 ; the family a school of, 
28; of women, 28; qualities of 
good, 28; good, 9, 65, 74, 88, 92, 
94; schools train for, 137-141. 

City, gover nm ent of the, 229-241. 

City council, 2^2, 233. 

Cit}" manager plan, 238, 239. 

Ci^*ic center, 14S. 

Ci\"ic improvement associations, 166. 

Civil ser^-ice, 210, 258; commission, 
211; reform in cities, 236. 

Cleanhness, 62, 63. 



; Cleveland. 155. 157. 
j Climate, 11. 
Coast sur\-ey, 112. 
i Colleges, 147. 
Colonial charters, 242. 
Colonies,- 107, 136, 169, 170, 220, 221, 

270. 
Colomsts, 3, 98, 135, 169, 182, 187, 

217, 218, 219, 252, 269. 
Colonize, 48. 
Colon}', in the West, 3 ; Virginia, 12, 

135, 219; Massachusetts Bay, 36. 
Colorado, 80, 82, 250. 
Columbus. 18. 
Co mm erce, 101-103 ; department of, 

104, 261 ; bureau of foreign and 

domestic, 261. 
Commission form of government. 

236-238. 
Committees, party, 196; legislative, 

244,256. 
Communication, 3 ; transportation 

and, 107-122. 
Communities, kinds of, 7 ; growth of, 

7; permanence of, 47 ; dependence 

on each other, 65. 
Community, the beginning of, 1-5 ; 

site of, I, 2, 10-14; nature of, 7-9; 

definition of, 7; school-, 139; 

membership in, 8, 9. 
Companionship, 17, 25. 
Comptroller, state, 247. 
Confederation, the, 100, 252; 

Articles of (see Articles). 
Confidence, 95, 96. 
Congress, organization and powers, 

254-256, 258.^ 
Congressional districts, 254. 
Connecticut, 136. 
Consen-ation of natural resources, 

127-131. 
Constables, 76, 218, 226. 
Constitution, of the United States, 

20, 42, 75, 76, 98, 99, 100, no, 119, 

148, 171, 179, 180, 182, 183, 184, 

197, 243, 249, 252, 253, 254, 255, 



INDEX 



307 



256, 257, 258, 261, 262, 270, 280- 
297 ; its framing and ratification, 
182, 253; amendment of, 253; 
interpretation of, 184. 

Constitutions, state, 99, 171, 189, 190, 
208, 242, 243, 244; amendment of , 
242. 

Consuls, 102. 

Convention, constitutional, 252, 253; 
nominating, 192. 

Corporation tax, 274. 

Corporations, growth of, 103 ; con- 
trol of, 102, 103 ; domination by, 
206; bureau of, 103, 261. 

Country, advantages of life in, 59. 

County, in the West, 223, 224; 
government of the, 219-227; as 
state administrative division, 246 ; 
courts, 249; supervisors, 221. 

Courts, city, 239, 240. 

Courts, federal, 261-263 > supreme, 
261 ; circuit, 262 ; district, 262 ; 
of claims, 262 ; of customs appeals, 
262. 

Courts, state, 77, 248-250; justices', 
248; police, 77, 248; district, 
248; circuit, 248; criminal, 249; 
county, 249 ; probate, 249 ; chan- 
cery, 249; supreme, 249. 

Credit, 95. 

Crime, 177, 180; regulation by state, 
179; by federal government, 179; 
prevention of, 178. 

Criminal courts, 249. 

Criminals, 31, 173, 177. 

Cuba, 67. 

Defectives, 173, 174. 

Defects in self-government, 214. 

Defense, national, 81-83. 

Delinquents, 173. 

Democratic, 188. 

Dependence of the citizen on the 

community, 88-92, 
Dependents, 173, 174-176. 
Desires, 16-20; combinations of , 18; 



conflict of, 19 ; provided for by the 
family, 25 ; by the community, 
58. 

Disease, protection against, 24; 
occupational, 32. 

Distribution of powers, 253. 

District courts, 248. 

District of Columbia, 266. 

Division of labor, 89, 90; geographi- 
cal, 90, 91. 

Division of powers, 182-186. 

Domain, eminent, 53 ; national, 48. 

Domestic science, 1 24. 

Education, 3, 135-148; in the 
pioneer family, 24 ; a duty, 141 ; 
department of, 234 ; United States 
Bureau of, 146; commissioner of, 
146. 

Efficiency engineering, 125. 

Election, 195; indirect, 197; of 
the President, 197. 

Elections, 195; primary, 192; fre- 
quency of, 196. 

Electors, presidential, 197. 

Electric railways, 114. 

Eminent domain, 53. 

Employee, responsibility of the, 91- 
94; and employer, 91. 

Employer, relation to employee, 91. 

Employer's liability laws, 80. 

Equalization, boards of, 273. 

Erie canal, 112, 113. 

Estimate, boards of, 233. 

Exchange of goods, 23. 

Excise taxes, 276. 

Executive powers, 185 ; in cities, 233 ; 
of the state, 246-248 ; of the 
national gov^ernment, 256-258; 
departments, 259-261. 

Exemptions, 275. 

Families, i, 2, 22. 

Family, 4, 22-26; services of, 22; 
responsibility of, 26 ; a training 
school for citizens, 28; unites 



3o8 



INDEX 



people and land, 48; protects 

health, 58 ; education in, 136. 
Federal government, 183; nation. 

183. 
Fees, 275. 
Fire, loss from, 71 ; protection 

against, 71-75 ; danger from, 31 ; 

department. 2^7, : waste from, 131 ; 

insurance, 74. 
Fisheries, bureau of, 131, 261. 
Floods, protection against, 85 ; waste 

from, 129; prevention of , 129. 
Food, impure, 103 ; and drugs act, 

103. 
Foreign commerce, regulation of, 

loi, 102. 
Foreigners, 36-45 ; in cities, 38 ; 

distribution of, 37, 38 (see 

I mm i grants. Immigration) . 
Forest service, 129. 
Forestr}-, 129; bureau of , 1 5 3 . 
Forests, national, 51. 
Franchises. 54, 116, 233. 
Franklin, Benjamin, 71, 76^. 77. 
Freedom, ind!\-idual, 99; of speech, 

press, and assemblage, 147, 14S. 
Free trade, loi. 

Gardens. 156, 157. 

Geographical conditions, i, 2, 10-14. 

Government, 5, 19, 25, 26, 31, 53, 54, 
68, 75, 93, 98, 104, 127, 131, 132: 
135, 137, 140, 153, 154, 169, 170, 
171, 172, 174, 175, 181-199, 200- 
216, 26S-279. 

Government, local, 13, 32, 52, 54,55, 
59, 60, 63, 64, 72, 73, 74, 76-78, 80, 
85, 99, 108, 109, no. III, 115, 116, 
118, 130, 143, 144, 145, 158, 162, 
182, 184, 185, 186, 188, 196, 209, 
210, 217-228, 229-241, 246, 268, 
269, 271, 273, 274, 275. 

Government, national, 13, 39, 40, 41. 
42, 45, 48, 49, 54, 55, 66, 67, 79, 
81—85, 95, 99, 100-104, no, 112, 
113, 119, 120, 126, 127-129, 131, 



137, 146, 153, 179, 182, 183, 184, 
j 186, 196, 223, 235, 252-267, 268, 
I 270, 275-278. 

i Government, purpose of, 19, 20, 104, 
181 ; cost of, 268 ; ownership of 
raHwaj's, 118; ownership of tele- 
graph, 119, 120; waste in, 131, 
j 132; threefold character of, 182. 
I Government, state, 32, 42, 53, 55, 66, 
j 80, 81, 85, 99, 100, 104, III, 112, 
113, 114, 141, 143, 145, 146, 153, 
171, 174, 178, 182, 183, 184, 186, 
188, 189, 196, 209, 210, 226, 230, 
242-251, 259, 263, 268, 271, 273, 
274, 275. 
Governor, the, 246, 
Great lakes, 112, 113. 
Guam, 266. 

Hamilton, Alexander, loi. 

Harmony, means to secure, 19. 

Hawaii, 263, 264. 

Health, 3, 11; desire for. 16. 58; in 
the pioneer family, 2^: in slimas, 
30, 31; protection of, 58-70; 
dangers to, 58, 59; board of, 60; 
commissioner of, 60; policeman, 
60; state control of, 66; state 
board of, 66; national control of, 
66; department of, 2;^;^. 

High schools, 142. 

Highways, state control of, no, in. 

Hoarding, 125. 

Home, making of a, 23; and the 
commimit}-, 28-35; owning a, 29; 
ownership (table), 298; life, 
dangers to, 30; laws protecting 
the, 32; beaut>' in the, 154. 

Home gardening association, 156, 

157- 
Home rule in cities. 231 ; in counties, 

226. 
Homes, citv- of, 2. 22, 30; desire to 

own, 48 ; of workingmen, 94. 
Homestead act, 43, 48. 
Hospitals, 64. 



INDEX 



309 



Idaho, 189. 

Illinois, 5,37. 

Immigrant, contribution of the, 40. 

Immigrants, reasons for coming, 36, 
39; number of, 36, 299 (tables), 
distribution of, 37, 38, 42; ex- 
cluded, 40, 41 ; in cities, 42 ; 
assimilation of, 42, 44; medical 
inspection of, 66. 

Immigration, character of, 39 ; com- 
mission, 41 ; restriction of, 41, 42 ; 
bureau of, 42, 261 ; tables, 299- 
303 (see Foreigners, Immigrants). 

Impeachment, 256, 257. 

Import duties, loi, 276. 

Income tax, 274, 276. 

Indiana, 38, 108. 

Indianapolis, 61, 62. 

Indians, 18, 24, 47; schools for, 
146. 

Industrial organization, 90. 

Inheritance tax, 274. 

Initiative, 209, 245. 

Insular affairs, bureau of, 259, 266. 

Insurance, fire, 74; life, 127. 

Interests, 2, 3, 7. 

Interior, department of, 260. 

Internal revenue districts, 277. 

Interstate commerce, regulation of, 

102, 103 ; act, 102 ; commission, 

103, 114. 

Interurban electric railways, 114. 
Investment, 126. 
Irrigation, 51. 

Jackson, Andrew, 210. 

Jefferson, Thomas, loi. 

Judges, appointment of, — state, 

249 ; federal, 262. 
Judicial branch of government, 185; 

of cities, 239; of states, 248-250; 

of the nation, 260, 261 ; districts, 

55,248. 
Judiciary, 261. 

Jury service, 202 ; trial by, 75, 249. 
Justice, department of, 259, 260. 



Justices' courts, 248; of the peace, 

248. 
Juvenile courts, 178. 

Kansas, 189. 

Knowledge, desire for, 17, 135-151. 

Labor, department of, 104, 261 ; 
unions, 92, 99, 

Land, 3, 47-57; divisions of, 47, 54; 
occupation of, 48 ; open to settle- 
ment, 49 ; survey of, 49-5 1 ; 
pubUc, 51 ; given to railroads, 48, 
114; reclamation of , 1 28. 

Law, in the family, 25 ; lax enforce- 
ment of, 63, 78, 79, 

Law breakers, 75. 

Law-making power, 244. 

Lawrenceburg, 82, 83, 84. 

Laws, common, 7 ; as a means to 
secure harmony, 19; protecting 
the home, 32. 

Legislation, direct, 208-210; gov- 
ernor'^ power over, 247 ; Presi- 
dent's power over, 257. 

Legislative branch of government, 
185; in cities, 232, 237, 238; in 
states, 243-246; in the national 
government, 254-256. 

Legislature, 243-246. 

Libraries, 147. 

Licenses, 275. 

Lieutenant governor, 244. 

Life, desire for, 16 ; well rounded, 18 ; 
protection of, 71-87; insurance, 
127; saving service, 84. 

Lighthouses, 84; bureau of, 261. 

Liquor traffic, 78. 

Livingstone, 17. 

Lobbying, 245. 

Local government (see Government) . 

Louisville, 11. 

Lynching, 75, 76. 

Machine, party, 205 ; voting, 206. 
Majority rule, 207. 



310 



INDEX 



IManiand, 170. 

^Massachusetts, colony, 36; educa- 
tion in, 135, 136. 

Mayor, 232, 233, 235. 

^lembership in the conununit}^, 8. 

^lerit svstem, 211; in cities, 236, 
25S. ' 

^Messages, President's, 258. 

]\Iilitar}- schools, 146. 

Mihtia, 80, 81. 

INIilwaukee, 130. 

Klines, bureau of, 131. 

IMinneapohs, 11. 

^Minnesota, 37. 

^Minority rule, 207. 

!Mints, loi. 

Money, 4, 23, 100, loi, 277. 

Xation, government of the, 252-267 
(see Government) ; builders of the, 

93- 

National government (see Govern- 
ment). 

National guard, 80. 

NationaHty, bond of, 4, 36. 

Natural resources, conservation of, 
127. 

Naturalization, 42; bureau, 261. 

Naval schools, 146. 

Na^■igation, bureau of, 261. 

Na^y, 81, 83, 84; department of, 260. 

New England, 13 ; schools in, 136. 

New Jersey, in, 189. 

New Mexico, 264. 

New Orleans, 66. 

Newspaper, 119. 

New York City, 38, 72, 74, 76, 79, 
117, 118, 130, 203, 212, 233. 

Niagara FaUs, 129. 

Noise, 158. 

No min ations, 190-194. 

Northwest Territor>^, 171. 

Obedience, 28, 198. 
Occupations, 3, 23, 24, 25, 90. 
Office, duty of taking, 201. 



Ohio, 80, 239. 
Oklahoma, 137. 
Ordinance of 1787, 137, 171. 
Ordinances, building, 74, 
Oregon, 189. 

Panama, 67. 

Panama canal, 113. 

Parcel post, 119. 

Pardons, board of, 247, 

Parish, 217. 

Parks, 2>2: 64, 153, 163, 166. 

Participation by children in school 

government, 140. 
Parties, poHtical, 190; organization 

of, 195, 196; and city government, 

Party spirit, 204, 205. 

Patriotism, 93, 96, 202. 

Pavements, 158. 

Pawn shops, 78. 

Peace movement, 83, 84. 

Pean,-, 17. 

Perm, William, 198. 

Pennsylvania, 37. 

Permanence, a necessit}- in com- 
mimit}' life, 47. 

Philadelphia, 11, 71, 72, 77, 130, 132, 
229. 

Philippines, 67, 259, 263, 264, 265, 
266. 

Pioneer life, 4; family, 22-26, 89, 

Piracy, 179. 
I Pittsburg, 10. 

Playgrounds, 31, 32, 64. 
j Ph-mouth, 36. 

Poles, telegraph and telephone, 162. 

Police, 76, 77;- courts, 248; de- 
partment, 234. 

Polls, 194, 195, 206. 

PoU tax, 274. 

Poor relief, 175. 

Porto Rico, 259, 263, 264, 266. 

Postal sa\"Tngs system, 126. 

Postal service, 119. 

Postmaster General, 120. 



INDEX 



311 



Post Office Department, 120, 260. 
Poverty, 175. 

Preamble to the Constitution, 20, 182. 
Preferential primaries, 194; voting, 

208. 
President, naturalized citizens may 

not become, 43; and the mihtia, 

81; nomination of, 191, 192; 

election of, 197; powers of, 257. 
Press, freedom of, 147. 
Primaries, 203, 204; direct, 193, 

194; preferential, 194. 
Primary elections, 191,192; districts, 

192, 
Probation officers, 178. 
Property, protection of, 71-87; 

rights, 52, 98. 
Proportional representation, 207. 
Protection, in the pioneer family, 24 ; 

of life and property, 71-87; of 

health, 58-69. 
Public opinion, 246. 
Public schools, 137-145 ; cost of, 137 ; 

train for citizenship, 137-141. 
Pubhc service, as a career, 211-213. 
Public works, board of, 234. 
Punishment, 177. 
Pure food laws, 67, 103. 
Puritans, 170, 218. 

Quarantine, 64, 66. 
Quebec, 11. 

Radio-communication, 120. 

Railroads, lands given to, 48. 

Railway commissions, 114. 

Railways, 112, 113, 114; govern- 
ment ownership of, 118. 

Recall, the, 208 ; of judicial decisions, 
250. 

Reclamation, of land, 128; service, 

SI. 
Referendum, 209, 245. 
Registration, 195. 
Religion, 3, 17, 25, 169, 170; attitude 

of government toward, 172. 



Religious desire, 169. 

Representation, basis of, 254. 

Representative government, 182. 

Representatives, chosen from local 
districts, 187, 188; House of — 
state, 243, national, 254-256. 

Republican form of government, 243. 

Resources, natural, i, 2, 11; conser- 
vation of, 1 27-131. 

ResponsibiHty, sense of personal, 198 ; 
of the citizen, 88, 94, 95, 124, 132, 
158, 201, 213, 274; of the state 
executive, 247 ; of the President, 
257- 

Revenue, bills for raising, 255; 
districts, 277. 

Revision of Constitutions, 242, 

Revolutionary War, 48, 49, 98, 100, 

137- 

Righteousness, desire for, 17. 

Rings, poHtical, 205. 

River and harbor bill, 112. 

Rivers as highways, iii, 112. 

Road, the national, no. 

Roads, lack of, 23 ; state control of, 
99 ; importance of, 108 ; methods 
of building, 108, 109 (see High- 
ways). 

Rural communities, 114; govern- 
ment of, 217-227; schools, 143, 
144; free mail dehvery, 119. 

Safety, board of, 234. 

Saint Louis, 65, 73. 

Samoan Islands, 266. 

San Francisco, 10, 75, 82. 

Saving, waste and, 123-134; by in- 
vestment, 125; by children, 126; 
by life insurance, 127. 

Savings, postal, 126. 

School, the public, its purpose, 19 ; 
influence on immigrants, 44; 
school city, 140; attendance, 141; 
as a civic center, 148. 

Schools, organization of, 143-145 ; 
private and parochial, 146 ; medi- 



312 



INDEX 



cal inspection in, 6$ ; adjust- 

ting to pupils' needs, 142. 
Scientific management, 125. 
Selectmen, 21S. j 

Self-government, 98, 99, 1S1-214; : 

direct and representative, 182; 

changing methods of, 200-214; '. 

restricted, 200, 201 ; in insular I 

possessions, 265 ; in schools, 140. I 
Senate, state. :_;: national. 254- 

256.' 
Senators, eleciion 01, 197, 255. 
Separation of powers, 185, 187, 

243.-254. _ 
Settlement in the West, 1-5, 7, 10, 

16, 17, 22, 30, 47, 59, 60, 107, 169. 
Sewers, 60-62. 
Sheriff, 76, 220, 224, 225. 
Short ballot, 203, 225, 226. 
Site of a community-, i, 2, 10-14, 

107. 
Slimis, 30. 
Smoke, 6^. 164. 
Social life, 3, 25. 
Soil, con3er\-ation of, 128. 
Soils, bureau of, 128. 
South Carolina, 239. 
Spain, war with, 263. 
Speaker, 244, 256. 
Speech, free, 147. 
Spoils system, 210, 211, 258, 
State (see Govern tueut) ; department 

of, 259; gove rnm ent of the, 242- 

251- 

State universities, 146. 

Steamboat, 112. 

Street, cleaning, 63 ; lighting, 77 ; 
blocking of, 116; its importance, 
115-117; appearance of, 157-163; 
department, 234. 

Suffrage, 188-190; woman, 189, 190. 

Superintendent, of schools — count}', 
143- cit}-, 144, state, 145. 

Supreme court — state, 249, fed- 
eral, 261. 

Sur\-ey of public lands, 49. 



Tariff, loi, 102. 

Taxation, 268-279. ~ 

Taxes, 100, 202. 

Telegraph, 119. 

Telephone, 114, 119. 

Tenements, 30-32. 

Terms of office, 196. 

Territories, 263-266. 

Texas, 237. 

Town meeting, 147, 148, 182, 217, 

218, 221, 222. 
Township, 50, 22^; government of, 

217, 218; as state administrative 

di^^sion, 246. 
Transp>ortation, 3 2 ; and commimi- 

cation, 107-120. 
Treason, 1 79. 
Treasurer, state, 246. 
Treasury-, department of the, 259. 
Treaties, 257. 

Trees, protection of, 160-162. 
Trial by jur\-, 75. 180. 
Trusts, 1C3. 
Turnpikes, no. 

Utah, 189. 

Vestr\-, 217. 

Veto, 187, 232, 244, 257, 258. 

Vice-President, 43, 197, 257. 

Vigilance committees, 75, 76. 

Virginia, 12, 13, 135, 219. 

Voting, independent, 193 ; duty of, 

202 ; preferential, 208 ; machine, 

206. 

War, Department of, 259. 

Washington, George, 190; farewell 
address of, 204. 

Washington, D.C., 146, 147. 

Waste, and sa\Tng, 123-134; in the 
household, 123, 125; in business, 
124; of natural resources, 127- 
131; of water, 130; b}* fire, 131; 
in government, 131, 132. 

Water, supply, 60-62, 73, 130; 



INDEX 



313 



conservation of, 129, 



power, 129; 

130. 
Wealth, 3, 23 ; desire for, 15, 
Weather bureau, 260. 
Weights and measures, loi. 
West, settlement of the, no. 
West Virginia, 37. 
Wireless telegraphy, 120. 



Woman suffrage, 189, 190. 

Women, citizenship of, 28; naturali- 
zation of, 43 ; managers of the 
household, 124. 

Wyoming, 189. 

Yellowstone Park, 153. 
Yosemite, the, 153. 



.IBRARv OF CONGRESS 



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